The Newz Radar
MANDI: The political crisis in Himachal Pradesh appears to be far from over as speculation is rife that PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh could float his own party to challenge the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government along in association with the BJP, Independent and the six disqualified MLAs.
Son of six-term Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh and Himachal Congress president Pratibha Singh, Vikramaditya has set the grapevine abuzz after he removed Congress and PWD Minister from his Facebook profile and replaced it with ‘Himachal ka sevak’. The move came hours after he met the six disqualified Congress MLAs who have been putting up at a Chandigarh hotel, which is being guarded by the CRPF and the Haryana Police. The young MLA is said to be in touch with other Congress legislators who were loyal to his father and family. Efforts to reach out to Vikramaditya on his phone proved futile as he didn’t respond to calls.
Initially, there were rumours about Vikramaditya holding closed-door parleys with top BJP leaders in Delhi, potentially indicating a switchover. Reports also suggested that BJP high command had summoned former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and state unit president Rajeev Bindal to Delhi, but the sudden directive to them to stay put in Shimla suggests a strategic manoeuvre probably aimed at overthrowing the Sukhu government.
Political analysts say that the BJP aims to navigate the political crisis with minimal confrontation as its primary objective is to regain power in the state. It is understood that top BJP leaders have advised the disgruntled Congress leaders to float a new party with the support of sufficient MLAs, including three Independents, to potentially circumvent the anti-defection law. With 25 MLAs in the Assembly, the BJP needs to secure the support of at least 10 more members to establish a government in the state.
Sources also confirmed to TNR that a prominent BJP leader from Punjab, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who too had defected from the Congress in 2021 after snapping an association of four decades, has been entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining a close contact with the rebel Congress leaders. Captain Amarinder had initially established his own party Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), which he later merged with the BJP and himself too joined the party. He is learnt to be providing support and guidance to the Himachal Congress rebels in Chandigarh. Captain Amarinder has close ties with the Virbhadra family. Vikramaditya’s sister Aparajita Singh is married to Angad Singh, who is the son of Amarinder Singh’s daughter Jai Inder Kaur.
In Himachal political crisis, buzz on Vikramaditya faction floating own party to topple Sukhu govt; Punjab ex-CM Amarinder ‘guiding’ rebel MLAs in Chandigarh
