Lok Sabha Election / Shock to Congress in Himachal Pradesh, 6 rebels joined BJP

Lok Sabha Election: Amidst the ever-increasing political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, 6 former Congress MLAs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday. He was disqualified from the post of MLA after disobeying a Congress whip. He joined the party in the presence of Union minister Anurag Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jairam Thakur and BJP state unit president Rajeev Bindal. Welcoming these former MLAs into the party, Thakur said that their presence will strengthen the BJP. He accused the Congress government in the state of not fulfilling its promises, which has caused anger among the people. Thakur said that these leaders had supported BJP in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections which reflected the "public anger" against the Congress.

These MLAs join BJP

The six rebel Congress MLAs who have joined BJP are Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajendra Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chaitanya Sharma and Devendra Kumar Bhutto. All of them were elected on Congress tickets and were disqualified on February 29 for disobeying a party whip by being present in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly and voting in favor of the state government during the cut motion and budget. The Election Commission has announced by-elections for his constituencies and he can contest the elections as a BJP candidate. Three independent MLAs – Ashish Sharma, Hoshiar Singh and K L Thakur – submitted their resignations on Friday. He is also likely to join BJP soon.

Sukhu government was in trouble

The Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu was in trouble last month after it won the Rajya Sabha elections for the state's lone seat with the support of these nine Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs. However, Sukhu's government does not see any threat right now but BJP is planning to topple his government with victory in the by-elections. BJP's victory in the by-elections may reduce the number of MLAs in the ruling party camp. After the disqualification of six Congress MLAs, the number of Congress members in the 62-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly has reduced from 39 to 33. The assembly originally has 68 members. BJP has 25 MLAs. The President can vote only if both the parties are tied during the majority test and currently the President is from the Congress Party.