TNR Desk
More turbulence was witnessed in Himachal Pradesh politics on Friday (March 22, 2024) as the three Independent MLAs, KL Thakur (Nalagarh), Hoshyar Singh (Dehra) and Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur), resigned from the Assembly.
The trio submitted their resignations to the Assembly Secretary, signalling potential changes in the state’s political equations. The resignations pave the way for byelections to fill the three vacant seats. The byelections to six Assembly constituencies, vacated by disqualified Congress rebels, have already been scheduled for June 1.
According to sources close to the Independent MLAs, their decision to resign stems from their “commitment to serve the interests of their constituencies”. They expressed intentions to contest the byelections under the banner of the BJP, stating that the saffron party would soon finalise their candidature.
Speaking on their decision, the Independent MLAs voiced confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda. They affirmed their plans to join the BJP shortly, underscoring their belief in the direction set forth by the current administration.
Following their resignations, the Independent MLAs proceeded to Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor, indicating a significant political development in the state. Allegations surfaced from the Independent MLAs, claiming harassment by the government following their support for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election.
Byelections are already slated for the six constituencies vacated by Congress rebels Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala), Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Chaitanya Sharma (Gagret), Davinder Kumar Bhutto (Kutlehar), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti) and ID Lakhanpal (Barsar).
