Rajya Sabha polls: Sukhvinder Sukhu-led Congress govt may fall in Himachal, says Jairam Thakur amid cross-voting reports
BJP leader and former CM Jairam Thakur has said the Congress government has lost the majority in Himachal Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said that the Sukhvinder Sukhu Sikhu-led Congress government has lost the majority in Himachal Pradesh, amid reports of cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha elections.
At least nine MLAs from the ruling camp have cross-voted in favour of the BJP candidate, according to reports. The BJP had fielded Harsh Mahajan against Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the Upper House seat to be filled from Himachal Pradesh.
The Congress party is in power only in two states, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.
BJP leader and former CM Jairam Thakur has said he can see the government has lost the majority in the state. When asked if his party will seek a trust vote, Thakur said, “Budget will be presented tomorrow. We will discuss the Budget tomorrow and then we will see the situation there. But I can see that the government has lost the majority."
The Congress won the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections in 2022 with 40 seats in the 68-member house. The party also has support of three independent MLAs. The BJP won 25 votes. If the Congress loses the support of nine MLAs, as is being speculated, it will be reduced to 31 MLAs. The majority in the house is 35.
Despite numbers favoring the Congress candidate, the BJP s forced a contest by fielding Mahajan against Simghvi. The BJP candidate Mahajan is a three-time Congress MLA and former minister who resigned from the party in September 2022 ahead of the Assembly polls and joined the BJP.
After casting his vote, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the MLAs have voted according to the ideology of the party.
“We have 40 MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha and unless MLAs are bought off, we will get all the votes,” he said.
As many as 67 out of the total 68 legislators have exercised their votes in Rajya Sabha elections in Shimla, news agency ANI said. Sudarshan Singh Babloo, Congress MLA, has not come so far due to illness. He was hospitalised.
Elections was held to elect 15 Rajya Sabha candidates in three states - Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh - on Tuesday. Polling was held for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka and one seat in Himachal Pradesh.
Forty-one candidates in the 56 seats falling vacant were elected unopposed to the Upper House.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradesh, Union IT Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, and former Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi were among the 41 candidates who have been elected unopposed to the Upper House.
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Business NewsPoliticsNewsRajya Sabha polls: Sukhvinder Sukhu-led Congress govt may fall in Himachal, says Jairam Thakur amid cross-voting reports
First Published:27 Feb 2024, 05:08 PM IST
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