Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday removed three ministers from his Cabinet and dropped two advisers and five parliamentary secretaries. His decision follows his move, along with thirty-three legislators from the People’s Party of Arunachal, to the Bharatiya Janata Party on December 31.

Chief Secretary Shakuntala Gamlin said Governor V Shanmuganathan approved Khandu’s recommendation to remove Rajesh Tacho, who handled the ministries of animal husbandry, dairy development, fisheries and sports and youth affairs; Tanga Byaling, who had the rural development and panchayat raj portfolios; and Takam Pario, who had the ministries of public health engineering, water supply and disaster management. The chief minister will retain their portfolios for now.

Officials said the chief minister is expected to visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah to discuss the expansion of his Cabinet. Khandu also removed Principal Adviser Kameng Do, CM’s adviser Tapang Taloh and parliamentary secretaries Mutchu Mithi (Public Works Department), Markio Tado (food and civil supplies), Tirong Aboh (geology and mining), Dikto Yekar (art and culture) and Nikh Kamin (disaster management).

The sacked officials had rejected Khandu’s leadership and extended their support to Takam Pario as the next leader. Eleven members of the People’s Party of Arunachal, including Khandu, were suspended for anti-party activities on December 30. With the latest developments, the PPA is reduced to 10 MLAs.

The state has been politically unstable for more than a year now. In December 2015, a number of Congress legislators had revolted against Nabam Tuki, who was the chief minister of the state before Khandu. One of the dissidents, Kalikho Pul, took over the top post in February with the help of 11 BJP lawmakers.

In July, the Supreme Court reinstated the Tuki government, though he failed to secure the support of Congress legislators. Khandu, who was a Congress member at the time, took over as the chief minister of the state. 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.