Congress leader Pema Khandu was on Sunday sworn in the new chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh after months of political turmoil in the state. Khandu took over the leadership of the party on Saturday after former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki resigned. Tuki was expected to seek a trust vote in the state Assembly, but his request for more time to prove his majority in the House was turned down by Acting Governor Tathagata Roy.

On Saturday, Khandu met Roy, along with state party president Padi Richo and Tuki, and staked claim to form government in the state with the support of 45 Congress legislators and two independent MLAs. The state Assembly has 58 members. The 37-year-old politician is the eldest son of former chief minister Dorjee Khandu, who died in a plane crash in 2011. He has earlier served as minister of tourism and water resources in the state government. Chowna Mein was sworn in as deputy chief minister.

Tuki had taken charge as chief minister on Wednesday evening, after the Supreme Court reinstated the Congress government in the state. The top court bench had directed a status quo ante (a return to the original status) in the state as it prevailed on December 15, 2015, when a set of rebel MLAs moved to oust Tuki and his government. The Congress had claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre was trying to destabilise its government through then Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa.