Jarbom Gamlin resigned on Monday both as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh and leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).
The move came after 40 Congress legislators resolved, at a crucial meeting of the CLP, to authorise party president Sonia Gandhi to nominate a new CLP leader. Party insiders said a new Chief Minister was likely to be sworn in on Tuesday.
Mr. Gamlin called on Governor J.J. Singh in the afternoon and tendered his resignation on the latter's return from Delhi where he had gone to attend the Governors' conference.
The former Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, B.K. Handique, who was present at the CLP meeting as one of the three AICC observers, told The Hindu over the phone from Itanagar that the legislators gave it in writing that they were authorising party president Sonia Gandhi to nominate a new leader. The other two observers were Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and the party-in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh Dhaniram Shandil.
The decision to leave it to the high command was taken after the ruling party legislators failed to reach a consensus. The Congress has 42 legislators in the 60-member Assembly.
Mr. Gamlin was sworn Chief Minister on May 5 after his predecessor Dorjee Khandu died in a helicopter crash. However, he faced dissidence soon afterwards, with some legislators insisting on his replacement by PCC president and Public Works Department Minister Nabam Tuki.
