Arunachal Pradesh: New CM from a community of only 2,500

Kalikho Pul, 46, a veteran of five consecutive victories in the Assembly elections since 1995, has been the lone crusader against the alleged rampant corruption of the previous Congress government headed by Nabam Tuki.

Mr Pul, a father of five sons, belongs to a very small community called Kaman Mishmi, which has hardly 2,500 members. An MLA from Hayuliang in Anjaw district in eastern Arunachal that shares a boundary with China, Mr Pul has been a minister for most of the time since he was first elected in 1995.

He began as deputy minister for finance (1995-97), then became minister of state for power (1997-99), MoS for finance (1999-2002), MoS for land management (2002-03), and finally minister for finance (2003-05) before he was made chairman of a high-powered committee and simultaneously adviser to the chief minister for about a year.

In 2006-09, he once again served as minister for finance, then minister for rural works (2009-11), and then health. Between 2011 and 2014, he was also made adviser to the chief minister, then again made a minister in 2014.

In 2015, Mr Pul who was accused to have been conspiring to topple Mr Tuki was not only dropped from the Cabinet but also expelled from the Congress for his alleged anti-party activities in April.

However, Mr Pul went to the court challenging his suspension from the Congress, which was revoked at the direction of the court.