Rajya Sabha poll brings turmoil to Himachal: Will CM Sukhu survive storm?

The maths was on the Congress’ side. However, in a stunning turn of events, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled off an upset by defeating the Congress veteran Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha elections because of cross-voting by six of the party’s MLAs.

And now this has cascaded into more turmoil for the Grand Old Party with the BJP demanding for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s resignation. In fact, an NDTV report said that the BJP MLAs met with Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla this morning, seeking a test of strength for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government in the state Assembly.

What’s going on? Is the Congress on the verge of losing power in another state? Here’s what we know.

A dramatic Rajya Sabha poll

On Tuesday (27 February), the MLAs of Himachal Pradesh cast their vote for the Rajya Sabha elections, with most expecting that Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi would sail through the vote. After all, in a 68-member Assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 and the remaining three seats are with Independents.

However, when counting began, the Congress was in for a rude shock when the voting was a tie with both the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against the party. The result was then declared on the basis of a draw of lots, and the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan was declared the winner .

Following the BJP’s triumph, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu alleged that the BJP along with the CRPF and Haryana Police “abducted” the MLAs taking them to Haryana’s Panchkula. In fact, a video clip that appeared online purportedly showed some Himachal MLAs in about five cars outside a government guesthouse in BJP-ruled Haryana’s Panchkula. However, Congress MLA Ravi Thakur, who is believed to be one of the six who voted for BJP instead of Congress, was quoted as telling news agency PTI that “he could go anywhere” while referring to his visit to Panchkula.

An Indian Express report states that Congress MLAs Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Chaitanya Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Davinder Kumar Bhutto, and Ravi Thakur, and Independent legislators Ashish Sharma, KL Thakur, and Hoshyar Singh voted for Mahajan.

While BJP celebrated its win, Abhishek Manu Singhvi accepted his defeat. In a press conference, he told the media: “I want to congratulate Harsh Mahajan that he has won. But I would certainly ask his party to introspect. If a party having 25 seats fields a candidate against one having 43, it only has one message. I am talking about principles here. The message is that ‘we will shamelessly do what the law doesn’t allow’. If you think that nine people have suddenly changed by getting impressed with a new ideology and that too overnight, then I think we all are living in a fool’s paradise.”

“If this is the definition of new India, then I prefer old India. We have created history even by losing today. It is probably for the first time in the country’s history that a tie has happened at 34-34 despite all efforts by our friends,” he further stated.

Even CM Sukhu said: Some people sold out their honesty… Nine cross-votings took place, three of them were independent MLAs but six others sold their honesty… and voted against him (Singhvi). Himachal’s people won’t tolerate this.”

BJP’s call for no-confidence

Following the BJP’s triumph, the party underlined that the Congress appeared to have lost the majority in the Assembly.

“After today’s results, the CM should resign because he has no moral right to remain in power,” said Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, adding that he will bring a motion of no-confidence soon.

He added, “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.”

Mahajan, who won the Rajya Sabha polls, also told the media: “The state government is in the minority right now. Fence-sitters in the government are ready to come to this side. They are unhappy with the government. They are so upset that they can do anything. This government won’t go on, it will topple with its own weight.”

Himachal BJP chief Rajiv Bindal also demanded the resignation of the CM following the Singhvi’s defeat.

And as the situation unfolded, the Congress’ top leadership swung into action to pacify the disgruntled lawmakers. It has deployed Bhupinder Singh Hooda and D K Shivakumar to engage with the six MLAs, who are learnt to be “disappointed” with the working style of Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and are seeking his replacement, reported PTI.

Impact on Congress

The Congress’ loss in Himachal Pradesh puts the 14-month-old government in crisis. It also is a litmus test for Sukhu’s leadership and the Congress party’s ability to rally its ranks and ensure the passage of the budget, thereby averting a potential governmental crisis.

Moreover, the Rajya Sabha loss is not just a loss for the Congress, but for the INDIA bloc as well ahead of the all-important Lok Sabha polls. It helps the BJP to get more aggressive on the ‘abki paar 400 paar’ narrative.

In fact, Home Minister Amit Shah said disintegration is afflicting the Congress and the opposition bloc INDIA as they are unable to keep their flock together. He added that the INDIA bloc in reality never existed and is a media creation, adding that all their leaders want is that their children become prime minister and chief ministers.

With inputs from agencies