Shimla: At a time when political parties across the country are preparing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024, the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh is buckling down more for the Assembly by-elections after six rebel party MLAs quit the party to join the BJP, in a bid to save the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government.
In the circumstances arising after the shock defeat of Congress veteran Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh due to cross voting of the rebel MLAs, Congress's focus is now on the assembly by-elections to be held on six seats.
The focus on the assembly by-elections risks the prospects of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections. From 2014 to 2019, Congress has lost all four Lok Sabha seats in the state. In the Lok Sabha by-election held on the Mandi seat in the year 2021, Pratibha Singh won, but with a slim margin making the seat vulnerable to the BJP.
Mukesh Agnihotri to play Congress Troubleshooter
Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri who lost his wife in February this year, has been roped in by the Congress high command to play the troubleshooter for the party in Himachal. Agnihotri is said to share cordial relations with the leaders of both the factions in Congress which the party may benefit from in the times to come especially in the upcoming assembly by-election and Lok Sabha election.
The Numbers
After the cross-voting by the then six Congress MLAs and three independents in the Rajya Sabha elections and the subsequent dismissal of the MLAs, the number of MLAs in the Himachal Pradesh assembly has now reduced to 62. The Sukhu government will have to win at least one of the six seats going to polls in the upcoming by-elections scheduled on June 1 to reach the majority mark.
Pertinently, six ex-rebel Congress MLAs--Rajendra Rana, Sudhir Sharma, ID Lakhanpal, Ravi Thakur, Devendra Bhutto and Chaitanya Sharma along with the three independents Hoshiar Singh, KL Thakur and Ashish Sharma--recently joined the BJP after which they were fielded by the saffron party in the by-elections.
The BJP has fielded Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala seat of Kangra district, Rajendra Rana from Sujanpur seat of Hamirpur district, Indradutt Lakhanpal from Barsar Assembly seat of Hamirpur district, Devendra Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar Assembly seat of Una district, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul Spiti and Gagret of Una district.
Rebellion in Himachal BJP
After the BJP fielded the Congress turncoats as its candidates for the assembly by-elections, the saffron party is facing a rebellion by the disgruntled leaders.
