Itanagar: In a dramatic development, the Congress lost its government in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday when Chief Minister Pema Khandu along with 42 MLAs defected to the Peoples' Party of Arunachal (PPA), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Two independents, supporting the Khandu-led Congress government, also joined the PPA -- a member of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a recently formed anti-Congress alliance led by the BJP.