New Delhi, March 23 – A group of former MLAs from the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, who were disqualified from the Congress party, are reportedly poised to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contest upcoming bypolls under its banner. The move comes amidst an ongoing political crisis gripping the state.
The disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto – on February 29, stemmed from their defiance of a party whip to support the Himachal Pradesh government during a cut motion and budget vote. Consequently, the Election Commission has announced bypolls for their respective constituencies.
Additionally, three Independent MLAs – Ashish Sharma, Hoshiyar Singh, and KL Thakur – tendered their resignations on Friday. It is expected that bypolls will be held for their seats as well.
“We have submitted our resignations. We will join the BJP and contest the elections on its ticket,” Singh later confirmed to reporters.
The political turmoil intensified last month after the BJP secured victory in the Rajya Sabha poll for the state’s lone seat with the support of these nine MLAs. While Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s government has shown resilience, the BJP aims to weaken it further through successful bypoll campaigns, possibly enticing more Congress legislators to switch sides.
Following the disqualification of the six Congress MLAs, the ruling party’s strength in the 62-member assembly has dwindled from 39 to 33, despite its original strength being 68. The BJP currently holds 25 seats, with the Speaker being affiliated with the Congress and holding a tie-breaking vote only during floor tests. The recent resignations of the three Independent MLAs have further diminished the assembly’s numbers.
