BJP Nominates Six Ex-Congress MLAs for Himachal Pradesh By-Elections

SHIMLA, Mar 26: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) escalated troubles for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh by nominating six disqualified Congress rebel MLAs as candidates in the Assembly by-polls, following their recent defection to the BJP. The six disqualified Congress MLAs—Rajinder Singh Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Chaitanya Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, and Davinder Bhutto—had previously cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election in favor of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan over Congress’ senior leader Abhishek Mani Singhvi. The BJP has strategically fielded these rebel MLAs in various constituencies: Ravi Thakur from Lahaul-Spiti, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar. In addition to these six MLAs, three independents—Hoshyar Singh, Ashish Sharma, and K.L. Thakur—also abandoned the Sukhu camp for the BJP, contributing to Singhvi’s defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections. The rebel Congress MLAs officially joined the BJP on Saturday, and with the addition of three independent MLAs who resigned from their posts on Friday (March 22), the BJP has significantly strengthened its position ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Himachal Pradesh is set to witness by-polls in six assembly constituencies previously occupied by the rebel MLAs, in addition to elections in four Lok Sabha constituencies. Following the disqualification of the six rebel MLAs, the ruling Congress, which previously held a comfortable majority with the support of 43 MLAs (40 of its own and three independents) after the 2022 assembly polls, now faces a challenge to maintain its strength. With the reduced house strength of 62 members and the halfway mark at 32, the Congress currently holds 34 MLAs, while the BJP, along with independents, has 28. The success of the Congress in the by-polls will depend on its ability to retain its remaining members. The upcoming by-polls hold significant importance for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government’s survival, making it imperative for them to perform well. Additionally, the BJP has also announced its candidates for the by-polls in Gujarat, Karnataka, and West Bengal.