Itanagar, Oct 24 - Dorjee Khandu is all set to become the chief minister of the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh for the second straight term with the newly elected Congress legislators Saturday unanimously electing him the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).

Khandu was the unanimous choice at the CLP meeting held in Itanagar. "All the 42 newly elected Congress legislators were present," a senior Congress leader said.

The CLP meeting was also attended by All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers Luizinho Faleiro and V. Narayansamy.

Guwahati, Oct 20 : China has formally clarified to India that it is not building a dam over the Brahmaputra river on its side, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met a group of legislators and MPs from the northeastern state led by Dorjee Khandu in New Delhi Monday.

"The prime minister assured us that there was no dam being constructed over the Brahmaputra by China. In fact, Beijing had formally communicated this to the Indian government," Khandu told IANS on telephone from New Delhi.

Elections in Arunachal Pradesh have so far followed a pattern — the party or coalition ruling from New Delhi wins assembly elections in the state.

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, a Congressman, is confident that his party will retain power in the state.

There is no contest in three seats, and Khandu’s constituency is one of them. The party is putting up candidates in all the remaining 57 assembly constituencies in the state.

Though Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Trinamool Congress are the Congress’s allies at the Centre, they are contesting independently in Arunachal Pradesh.

Itanagar, Feb 6 : The rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) has reportedly abducted 39 youths from Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district.

State Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was quoted as saying that the youths were kidnapped on January 21 and taken to NSCN (K) hideouts and training camps in Myanmar.

Khandu appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to secure the early release of the kidnapped persons.