Kalikho Pul: From humble origins to CMship, ‘strong-willed’ but a shocking end

IMPHAL: Former Arunachal chief minister Kalikho Pul, 47, was known to be a man of strong will though an enigmatic leader in state politics.

He was born in the Walla village of Hawai in Anjaw district and was orphaned soon.

Belonging to the Kaman Mishmi ethnic group, the self-made leader showed his leadership skills first when he became the general secretary of the students union of Indira Gandhi College Tezu.

Also Read:

Parliamentarians in shock after learning about Pul

Supporters hit streets following Kalikho Pul’s death


Former chief minister Gegong Apang was quick to spot his talent and propped him up. He made Pul a junior minister and he soon became the long-serving finance minister in subsequent Congress regimes.

An economics graduate, Pul represented the Hayuliang assembly constituency since 1995. Pul hogged national attention after he raised a banner of revolt against Nabam Tuki early this year and became chief minister in February.

After the rebellion, Pul and 30 other rebel Congress MLAs joined the People’s Party of Arunachal. He was one of the architects of the Northeast Democratic Alliance ( NEDA), a platform of non-Congress political parties.

He was very optimistic about BJP chief Amit Shah’s NEDA initiative. However, the rebellion was embroiled in a legal tussle, first in the high court and then in the Supreme Court.

After the apex court verdict last month that reinstated the Tuki government, Pul was confident of retaining his position with the backing of BJP and rebel Congress MLAs. That was when the Congress pulled a coup and all the rebels were back in its fold.

Pul was left alone in a hotel in Guwahati. On July 16, he was the last to reach the Congress legislature party meeting in Itanagar. Pul was able to ensure that Tuki did not return but Pema Khandu took over as CM as he rejoined Congress reluctantly.

State BJP chief Tapir Gao told ET: “Pul was a man of strong determination. But the Supreme Court ruling completely shattered him. He was feeling very low.” After the SC ruling, Pul had said that he had to step down in view of the legal interpretation of the judgment.

However, he always maintained that he would return as chief minister soon. Pul felt that in his four month stint as CM he had infused a personal touch to the administration. He was a workaholic and accessible.

Officers who worked with him confided that he used to go into details and was strict about the timeline. He is survived by three wives and four children.