HYDERABAD, India, (Reuters) – A senior Congress  leader and governor of a southern Indian state resigned after  an alleged sex scandal in another blow to the ruling Congress  party which is facing protests over statehood demands there.

Governor N.D. Tiwari, a top representative of India’s  president in Andhra Pradesh state, resigned late on Saturday  after a local television channel aired a video of the  86-year-old Congress leader allegedly in bed with three young  women.

Tiwari said the footage was doctored, but an embarrassed  Congress party asked the governor to resign.

The Congress faces a mid-term poll in the state if  political parties continue to protest and lawmakers resign en  masse over demands for a new Telangana state,

“This incident adds to the problems of the Congress party  and the government will now have to look for a replacement who  they will hope can control the political turmoil and keep the  house in order in Andhra Pradesh,” said N. Bhaskara Rao of the  Centre for Media studies.

The Congress party, which has won several key state polls  recently and has 33 lawmakers in parliament from Andhra Pradesh  state which it also rules, does not want any further trouble in  the key state, experts said.

The political developments in Andhra Pradesh have made  politicians and investors jittery, especially in the state’s  main city of Hyderabad, which houses firms like Microsoft,  Google and Mahindra Satyam, among others. The regional Telangana Rashtra Samiti party, which is  spearheading the statehood demand has given the government time  until Monday to decide on Telangana or face wider protests.

Tiwari’s office said the veteran politician, who has held  positions of Congress chief minister in the past resigned on  health grounds.

“Whatever the reasons, this comes at a very bad time for  the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh,” said Amulya Ganguli, a  New Delhi-based political analyst.

The three-and-half minute footage was the most watched  video on YouTube on Saturday in India and newspapers splashed  front page stories on the sex scandal yesterday that has  sparked online debates on the conduct of politicians in India.

The Congress party, which has been criticised by the  opposition for distancing itself from a move to carve the  Telangana state after initially announcing its support,  welcomed Tiwari’s resignation and said it might take more  action.