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UWAHATI: They say behind every successful man there's a woman. But in Arunachal Pradesh, behind a number of "successful" politicians, there is
almost always more than one woman. Sounds strange? But the list of candidates fighting the October 13 elections to the state's 60-member Assembly only confirms this.
Among the most prominent politicians in the fray with more than one wife is chief minister Dorjee Khandu, who has been elected unopposed from the Mukto constituency in Tawang district. He has two spouses.
But leading the list is former chief minister Gegong Apang, who's contesting from the Tuting-Yingkiong constituency on a Congress ticket, with four wives, closely followed by former deputy CM and Congress candidate from Chayang Tajo Kameng Dolo. He has three wives.
Another Congress nominee and former minister Hori Natung, contesting from Seppa West, has two wives. Deputy speaker Takara Marde (Congress nominee from Dumporijo) and Lombo Tayeng (Congress candidate from Mebo) are going neck and neck in the race with two wives. The latter even served as ministers in Congress as well as BJP governments. The Congress candidate from Khonsa East, T L Rajkumar, also has two spouses. He, too, had been a Cabinet minister for several years.
BJP candidate from Itanagar, Lechi Legi, has three wives. He served Congress as well as BJP ministries for many years, but lost the 2004 elections on a Congress ticket. Trinamool Congress, which is contesting the elections in Arunachal for the first time, has given a ticket to Talo Mugli for the Raga seat. He had married twice. Mugli had been a Congress minister for two terms and is also a former APCC chief. He, however, lost the last polls on a BJP ticket.
Incidentally, polygamy is common among various tribes of the landlocked, frontier state. One of the reasons why politicians to marry more than once, it seems, is to be in an advantageous position in the battle of ballots. "By having more wives, one can have more relatives and more supporters. This may appear strange in other parts of the country, but not in Arunachal where many people get married more than once," a trader from Arunachal says, adding that men often marry more than once because of the small population of each tribe.
"Polygamy is part of age-old tribal traditions in Arunachal. Many tribes are dwindling in number. And to keep their population intact, they practise polygamy," says an Itanagar-based teacher, who's not originally from Arunachal.
Many traditional tribal laws are still in force in Arunachal and the customary judiciary system of "Kebang" is still considered an effective tool in many villages of the state. Judiciary was separated from executive in Arunachal on December 17, 2007 when the state decided to set up two district and sessions courts.
UWAHATI: They say behind every successful man there's a woman. But in Arunachal Pradesh, behind a number of "successful" politicians, there is
almost always more than one woman. Sounds strange? But the list of candidates fighting the October 13 elections to the state's 60-member Assembly only confirms this.
Among the most prominent politicians in the fray with more than one wife is chief minister Dorjee Khandu, who has been elected unopposed from the Mukto constituency in Tawang district. He has two spouses.
But leading the list is former chief minister Gegong Apang, who's contesting from the Tuting-Yingkiong constituency on a Congress ticket, with four wives, closely followed by former deputy CM and Congress candidate from Chayang Tajo Kameng Dolo. He has three wives.
Another Congress nominee and former minister Hori Natung, contesting from Seppa West, has two wives. Deputy speaker Takara Marde (Congress nominee from Dumporijo) and Lombo Tayeng (Congress candidate from Mebo) are going neck and neck in the race with two wives. The latter even served as ministers in Congress as well as BJP governments. The Congress candidate from Khonsa East, T L Rajkumar, also has two spouses. He, too, had been a Cabinet minister for several years.
BJP candidate from Itanagar, Lechi Legi, has three wives. He served Congress as well as BJP ministries for many years, but lost the 2004 elections on a Congress ticket. Trinamool Congress, which is contesting the elections in Arunachal for the first time, has given a ticket to Talo Mugli for the Raga seat. He had married twice. Mugli had been a Congress minister for two terms and is also a former APCC chief. He, however, lost the last polls on a BJP ticket.
Incidentally, polygamy is common among various tribes of the landlocked, frontier state. One of the reasons why politicians to marry more than once, it seems, is to be in an advantageous position in the battle of ballots. "By having more wives, one can have more relatives and more supporters. This may appear strange in other parts of the country, but not in Arunachal where many people get married more than once," a trader from Arunachal says, adding that men often marry more than once because of the small population of each tribe.
"Polygamy is part of age-old tribal traditions in Arunachal. Many tribes are dwindling in number. And to keep their population intact, they practise polygamy," says an Itanagar-based teacher, who's not originally from Arunachal.
Many traditional tribal laws are still in force in Arunachal and the customary judiciary system of "Kebang" is still considered an effective tool in many villages of the state. Judiciary was separated from executive in Arunachal on December 17, 2007 when the state decided to set up two district and sessions courts.
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