Kolkata [West Bengal], Sept. 17 : The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) said Saturday even though the Congress is the oldest political party, it has lost its image, credibility and strength, due to which it is being abandoned by its own leaders as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and 42 other Congress MLAs resigned from the party and joined the regional People's Party of Arunachal ( PPA), which is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Congress is the oldest political party but with time they have lost their image, credibility and strength. At this point they neither represent the rich nor the poor or the middle class. It is losing its ground day by day and with time the Congress will not be there in the Indian politics," AITC leader Sovandeb Chatterjee told ANI.

He added that the Congress may soon cease to exist in the national political scenario and may get limited to just certain regions.

"They may work in a small area, but in the near future of national politics, they will become insignificant day by day," he said.

It is the second time that Arunachal Pradesh has slipped out of the Congress party's hands in seven months.

The previous Congress government was led by Nabam Tuki and it collapsed after the party's rebels, along with the opposition BJP voted it out of power during a special session of the state assembly held at a makeshift venue.

After a period of central rule, Congress rebels led by Kalikho Pul took power with support from the BJP. That government lasted only five months as the Supreme Court reinstated the previous government.

Khandu was then sworn-in as the ninth Arunachal Chief Minister on July 17 as the Congress replaced Tuki. (ANI)