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Seats by party
INC: 37 seats (61.7%)IND: 11 seats (18.3%)JD: 11 seats (18.3%)JNP(JP): 1 seats (1.7%)31 for a majority6031 TO GOVERN
  • INC3761.7%
  • IND1118.3%
  • JD1118.3%
  • JNP(JP)11.7%
The story

A bigger house, a bigger win

What happened

Congress held onto power comfortably, in the first election after the territory became a full state.

The Indian National Congress won 37 of the 60 seats on offer, a landslide by any measure.

That was 6 seats more than the 31-seat mark needed for a majority.

Its closest rival, the Janata Dal, won 11 seats.

What changed

This was the territory's first election as a full state of India, with a much larger assembly to fill.

The house grew from 30 seats to 60.

4 parties ended up winning seats, and 11 more went to independent candidates.

The JD was contesting for the first time, and immediately became the next-largest party.

Notable numbers

A few numbers from the results stand out.

The tightest race of the night was in Nari-Koyu, Arunachal Pradesh, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 6 votes.

At the other end, Tuting-Yingkiong, Arunachal Pradesh saw the widest margin, with the winner ahead by 62.0% of the vote.

Turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — peaked in Lekang, Arunachal Pradesh, at 85.9%.

Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh had the largest electorate of any seat that year, with 28,559 registered voters.

The backdrop

This election followed a major change in the territory's status within India.

Arunachal Pradesh had only recently become a full state of the country.

Historical context
Arunachal Pradesh attains full statehood

Arunachal Pradesh became a full state of India on 20 February 1987, ending fifteen years as a Union Territory (renamed from the North-East Frontier Agency in January 1972). The Legislative Assembly's strength rose from 33 to 60 seats, first used in the 1990 general election.

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