BJP flag.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Itanagar: The ruling BJP in Arunachal Pradesh replaced its candidate in the Tezu Assembly seat, and fielded former minister Mahesh Chai in the place of Badang Tayang.
In the candidates' list announced on March 13, the BJP named Tayang as its nominee for the Tezu seat. On Thursday, it issued a statement and declared Chai as its candidate.
"The party's central leadership have reviewed the ground situation and found that Chai is more suitable for the seat," state BJP's in-charge president Tarh Tarak said.
"The central leadership took the decision to replace Tayang as they might have found that the ground situation was not suitable for him. Otherwise, this is the rarest of rare cases which generally does not happen in the BJP," he said.
Chai, a former minister, unsuccessfully contested the seat in 2019 on a BJP ticket.
Tayang could not be contacted for a comment.
The election to the 60-member state assembly will be held along with the Lok Sabha polls in the state on April 19.
The counting of votes for the assembly polls would be held on June 2, and for the two Lok Sabha seats in the state on June 4 along with the rest of the country.