NCP, which won five seats in the just concluded Arunachal Pradesh assembly elections, will support the Congress from outside, although the party may not need it having won two-thirds majority.
NCP state unit president and former home minister L Wanglat said that the results were below expectations as it was thought that at least 15 to 20 of the 36 candidates would win. "The solace was that in 22 seats NCP candidates came second.
"Winning the state capital seat and trouncing Congress stalwart Gegong Apang shows NCP's strength," Wanglat said.
Asked if NCP would play the role of an opposition party or support Congress from outside, Wanglat said "Congress and NCP are coming closer elsewhere and we will go for the same spirit here."
Alo Libang, who surprised Apang by defeating him by 1370 votes in a triangular contest in Tuting-Yingkiong on the Sino-India border, said that he lost as he had neglected his voters during his 23 years as chief minister.
The area remained underdeveloped without healthcare and education facilities and road links, he said.
The 45-year old Libang started his political career as an Anchal Samiti member in 1992, then became a Zilla Parishad member in 2003 and an executive member of the PCC after Dorjee Khandu took over the reins dislodging Apang in 2007.
