The Votes counting is underway in Arunachal Pradesh for Assembly election. The 60-member Assembly state has been a bastion of Congress for years. Although the fight in most constituencies was between BJP and Congress, regional parties like People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), Nationalist People’s Party, JD(U) and JD(S).

Currently BJP is ruling the state. Though Congress had won the Assembly elections 2014 but 33 of its 44 MLAs led by chief minister Pema Khandu first joined PPA and then merged into BJP in 2016 to form the government.

The ruling BJP had already opened its account in the assembly polls by winning three seats unopposed. The winners are Kento Jini from Along East constituency in West Siang district, Taba Tedir from Yachuli seat in Lower Subansiri district and Phurpa Tsering from Dirang seat in West Kameng district.

Here are the main points:

1. Arunachal Pradesh has total 60 Assembly seats and all are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. Till 2014 state election one constituency— Bordumsa - Diyum was unreserved, now it is also a ST seat.

2. Arunachal Pradesh has an estimated Scheduled Tribe (ST) population of 79.68 per cent.

3. Total 181 candidates contesting from Congress, BJP, NPP, Janata Dal (United) People's Party of Arunachal, Independents. The BJP has fielded candidates in all the remaining 57 assembly seats while Congress is contesting in 46 seats, the NPP in 30 seats, JD(U) in 15 constituencies, JD(S) in 12 and PPA in nine.

4. Elections for 57 of the 60 Assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats were conducted together on phase one.

5. The state saw 66 per cent turnout in this Assembly polls. While the turnout of previous three elections were 67.5 per cent (2014), 76.6 per cent (2009) and 67.3 per cent (2004).

6. From Mukto constituency in Tawang district, Chief Minister Pema Khandu is facing the Congress’s Thupten Kunphen, a monk in a monastery in Tawang.

7. Pema Khand since assuming office of chief minister in July 2016, he and his government have twice changed their party affiliation. Previously he had served as Minister of Tourism, Urban Development and Water Resources in Congress government led by former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

8. In 2014, Congress had won the Assembly elections but 33 of its 44 MLAs led by chief minister Pema Khandu first joined PPA and then merged into BJP in 2016 to form the government.

9. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's National People's Party (NPP) is also emerging as a serious player in this election as dissidents from both BJP and Congress have joined the party recently. Eighteen BJP leaders including 15 sitting MLAs joined NPP in March this year. While seven sitting MLAs of Congress also joined NPP.

10. NPP while remaining as part of NEDA with BJP decided to contest assembly polls alone.

(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)