'In a state like Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP has really no relevance and hence for the overall betterment of the state and the region as a whole I thought the Congress party was the best option,' Rijiju told IANS.

The BJP was already in election mode, hoping to use Rijiju's charisma to make an impact in the assembly elections.

'We know Rijiju betrayed the party at a very crucial juncture, but we are hopeful of revitalising the party and still managing to do well in the polls,' Chandra Shekhar Rao, BJP's in-charge in the northeast, said.

After Rijiju left the party, the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh has simply become defunct with no leaders worth the name to fill that vacuum.

'We are simply not bothered whether there is opposition or no opposition. We shall go to the people seeking a mandate for development. Our poll slogan is nothing but development and peace,' Takam Sanjay, Congress MP from Arunachal West constituency, said.

An estimated 700,000 people are expected to exercise their franchise in a state of a little more than 100,000 people.