Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, his deputy Chowna Mein and five others were temporarily suspended from the People’s Party of Arunachal on Thursday for allegedly engaging in anti-party activities. The other five are also legislators: Jambey Tashi, Passang Dorjee Sona, Zingnu Namchom and Kamlung Mossang, and Chow Tewa Mein, PTI reported.

The decision was made by the PPA’s state executive committee on December 20. The party said Khandu has thus been debarred as the leader of the PPA Legislature Party, and party MLAs should no longer take directions from him. The party plans to elect a new leader and submit this name to the state Assembly soon, NDTV reported.

Arunachal’s troubled politics: A timeline

  • The state has been battling severe political instability for more than a year now. 
  • In December 2015, a number of Congress legislators had revolted against Chief Minister Nabam Tuki. 
  • One of the dissidents, Kalikho Pul took over as chief minister in February, 2016, with the help of 11 Bharatiya Janata Party lawmakers.
  • The Supreme Court reversed this development, reinstating Tuki in July. However, Tuki did not have the support of a majority of the Congress legislators, and Khandu, at the time a Congress member, took over.
  • Pul committed suicide in August. 
  • In October, Khandu and 43 other MLAs defected from the Congress and joined the PPA, a regional party. 
  • The PPA, BJP and other regional parties are part of the North East Democratic Alliance.