The Peoples Democratic Party sacked the president of its Bandipora district, Yasir Reshi, on Thursday. The party’s Baramulla district chief, Irshad Ahmad Kar, will take charge of Bandipora as well for now, PTI reported. Reshi is a member of the Legislative Council.

Last week, Reshi joined an expanding list of disgruntled Peoples Democratic Party leaders, and called for an alternative to the “two-family” system of power in Jammu and Kashmir. He was referring to the Mufti and the Abdullah families, which, barring the periods of governor’s rule, have headed all but one government in the state since 1986.

Earlier that week, three MLAs of the Peoples Democratic Party had blamed former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for the collapse of the government, which the party ran in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The dissent was led by former minister Imran Raza Ansari and his uncle Abid Ansari, and another MLA, Muhammad Abbas. Legislators Abbas Wani, Abdul Majid Paddar and Javaid Beigh later supported them.

The state is currently under Governor’s Rule.

The earlier government was led by the Peoples Democratic Party, which has 28 seats in the 87-member Assembly. The BJP has 25 seats, the National Conference has 15, and the Congress has 12 seats in the state Assembly.

The rebellion in the People’s Democratic Party had led to rumours that a “Northern Alliance”, comprising the BJP, the People’s Conference and dissident leaders of the People’s Democratic Front, may be formed in the state. It led to speculation that the existing leadership may be sidelined and a new coalition government formed, getting around the state’s stringent anti-defection laws.

However, over the last few days, reports have emerged of Peoples Democratic Party legislators pledging their loyalty to Mufti. The BJP also put an end to the speculation on Tuesday.