After pulling off Himachal upset in Rajya Sabha election, BJP guns for Sukhu govt: ‘Will meet Governor in the morning’

The BJP’s Harsh Mahajan, a former Congress leader, won the election in a draw of slips after both he and Singhvi polled 34 votes each in the 68-member Assembly. Out of the two slips, the one that was drawn carried Singhvi’s name and as per the norms he was “excluded” and Mahajan was declared the winner. The Congress has 40 MLAs in the House compared to the BJP’s 25 and was counting on the support of three Independent MLAs.

Congress MLAs Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Chaitanya Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Davinder Kumar Bhutto, and Ravi Thakur, and Independent legislators Ashish Sharma, K L Thakur, and Hoshyar Singh voted for Mahajan. Before the results were declared, they were allegedly escorted to Panchkula in Haryana. A video clip that appeared online purportedly showed the MLAs in about five cars outside a government guesthouse in Panchkula. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu alleged that “five to six Congress MLAs” had been “kidnapped” and taken away by a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Haryana Police.

Demanding that the Sukhu government resign, state BJP president Rajeev Bindal told reporters, “They have no right to remain in power. We will meet the Governor in the morning to call for voting on the day of the vote on Budget. The government should step down.” Former CM and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur also said the Sukhu government “will have to tender resignation”.

But at a press conference, Sukhu dismissed the BJP leaders’ claim. “We have not lost the trust. We got 34 votes and they got 34 votes. Six Congress MLAs did cross-voting. They voted against a leading lawyer. Was it a vote of resentment?”

Asked what would be the party’s line of action, Sukhu said, “No line of action. Thirty-four MLAs showed their honesty. They were given various allurements. But, they showed character, morality, and honesty. Those MLAs are with us. The culture of Himachal does not allow this (cross-voting). The people of Himachal do not like this.”

With Sukhu by his side, Singhvi said at the press conference, “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.”

He added, “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.”

Earlier in the evening, as the counting began, Jai Ram Thakur alleged the violation of the election code of conduct and submitted a representation to the Election Commission (EC) to stop counting. The Opposition leader said the CM sent his helicopter to bring Babloo, who had fallen ill on Monday, from Hoshiarpur in Punjab. Thakur said the CM received Babloo in Shimla and brought him to the polling station, alleging that Sukhu influenced the MLA. He said the MLA’s vote should not be counted as it had been cast in violation of the poll code.

— With PTI inputs