Sukhu govt must win one seat in Himachal Assembly byelections for survival, BJP won’t get majority even if it bags all six
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TNR Desk
The future of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh hangs in the balance, hinging largely on the outcome of the Assembly byelections to the six seats that will be conducted concurrently with the parliamentary polls on June 1 (2024). The results will be declared on June 4.
With the Congress strength in the 68-member Assembly reduced to 34 seats, it faces the challenge of winning at least one seat to stave off the collapse of the Sukhu government. Conversely, the BJP, with 25 MLAs and the support of three Independent legislators, won’t get a majority even if it wins all six seats. Its tally will only reach 34.
The six Congress rebel MLAs were disqualified by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on February 29 under the anti-defection law as they defied the party whip on remaining present for the passage of budget during the Assembly proceedings. Prior to their disqualification, the six rebels had openly defied the party diktat and caused much embarrassment to the Sukhu regime by cross-voting in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan, resulting in the defeat of Congress nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct simultaneous Assembly byelections in the constituencies of Dharamshala (Kangra); Sujanpur, Barsar, Kutlehar (Hamirpur), Gagret (Una) and Lahaul-Spiti has intensified the battle for supremacy in Himachal. Both the Congress and the BJP are gearing up to exert maximum efforts to secure victory in these seats.
The disqualified MLAs include Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala), Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Davinder Kumar Bhutto (Kutlehar), Chaitnaya Sharma (Gagret) and Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti).
