Did Congress Not Field Candidates for Arunachal Pradesh Elections? A Fact-Check

Congress party has nominated candidates for both general and state assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh.

Fact-Check | The claim of Congress not fielding any candidates in the upcoming elections is false.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A post is doing the rounds on social media platforms claiming that the Congress party has not fielded any candidates in Arunachal Pradesh as "China might get angry."

What did the viral post say?: The post carried text said, "Congress didn't field any candidate in Arunachal Pradesh because China might get angry and also because it will be a breach of the 2009 MoU signed between the Congress and the Chinese Communist Party*."

"Also, despite starting in the North East, *Pappu's Bharat Anyay Yatra* never entered Arunachal Pradesh," it added.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

The post is being widely shared on Facebook. (You can view archives of several such claims here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: The claims made in the viral post are false as Congress has nominated candidates for both Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh.

• Additionally, there is evidence available to support that Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' had entered Arunachal Pradesh.

Candidates fielded for 2024 Lok Sabha elections: We went through the official website of Election Commission of India (ECI) and referred to affidavits filed by different contesting candidates.

• It should be noted that there are two constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh, on which candidates will be contesting for the general elections.

• We found that Congress party has nominated Bosiram Siram and Nabam Tuki for the Arunachal East and Arunachal West constituencies, respectively.

Congress has nominated candidates for both constituencies. 

(Source: ECI/Screenshot)

Congress candidates for state assembly elections: Further, we checked the list of candidates who will be contesting from different constituencies during the Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections.

• Team WebQoof found that the Congress party has fielded candidates on several constituencies to contest the state assembly elections.

Here are some examples of candidates fielded by Congress.

(Source: ECI/Screenshot)

News reports: A report published in the Deccan Herald that a total of 14 candidates will contest the two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh.

• It further mentioned that Tuki and Siram will be contesting the elections on Congress seats.

• Coming to the state assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, we found a report by The Hindu that talked about Congress announcing a list of 34 candidates.

• However, some candidates withdrew from the elections, bringing down the tally of Congress representatives contesting the state assembly elections to 19.

The report was published on 3 April 2024.

(Source: Deccan Herald/Screenshot)

Did 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' skip Arunachal Pradesh?: A news report in The Hindu mentioned about the yatra entering the state on 20 January, where Rahul Gandhi was received by state Congress Committee president Nabam Tuki in Papum Pare district.

• We also found visuals of the yatra in the state available on the official YouTube channel of Gandhi.

Conclusion: It is clear that Congress has indeed fielded candidates in the upcoming elections in Arunachal Pradesh.

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