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Congress loses power in Arunachal Pradesh as CM Prema Khandu leads sweeping exodus

by IBNS 16 Sep 2016, 10:35 am

New Delhi, Sept 16 (IBNS) : In a tale of fluctuating fortune, the Congress in Arunachal Pradesh once again lost control over the state as Chief Minister Prema Khandu on Friday led almost all but one lawmaker to join an ally of the BJP, turning the ruling party a minuscule minority, reports said.

The dramatic development in the volatile northeastern state came only two months after the Congress  regained power following a Supreme Court order.

 Khandu has led a band of 43 of the 44 Congress lawmakers  to join the regional People's Party of Arunachal, which is an ally of the BJP. 

The sole legislator  who has stayed with the Congress is Nabam Tuki, who was replaced as Chief Minister to arrest a rebellion in the ranks that had thrown the party out of power in January. 

Khandu claimed that it was a merger of the Congress with the People's Party.

In an assembly of 60 members, the Congress had 44 lawmakers. The BJP has 11 members.

The two independent lawmakers who supported the Congress have also joined the People's Party.

Khandu took charge at the head of the Congress government in July after the Supreme Court declared as illegal the process through which the baton of power was taken away from the Congress through a mass exodus.

The Congress's previous government led by Nabam Tuki had collapsed as a result of rebel legislators joining hands with the BJP and voting it  out in a special session held at a makeshift venue. 

After a period of central rule, Congress rebels led by Kalikho Pul assumed power  with support from the BJP and was there for five months till the  Supreme Court reinstated the previous government in July.