Himachal Pradesh heads for political turmoil after key bypolls

The problem for the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh may not be over just yet. It is likely that when the Lok Sabha election results are out on June 4, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu may face a grave political crisis.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying for a hat trick by winning all four Lok Sabha seats for the third consecutive term in the 2024 general elections, the party is also eyeing the six Assembly seats where bypolls are happening after six Congress legislators resigned in March to join the BJP.

In the 70-member Assembly, the ruling Congress is in the minority after six of its MLAs resigned. The Congress requires the support of at least 35 MLAs in the Assembly, as it now has only 34 on its side. Although the Congress won with a clear majority with 40 MLAs in November 2022, its six MLAs rebelled and joined the BJP after differences with Chief Minister Sukhu.

“We decided to resign from the Assembly and face the election because we want to send a message to the people that the Congress government under Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is not fulfilling its election promises, and we are leaving it so that people benefit. The Himachal Pradesh government is in minority and if we are able to win all six seats in the by-elections, then both Congress and BJP will have 34 MLAs each in the assembly. The BJP has 28 MLAs at present, and the Congress has 34,” Ravi Thakur, a rebel MLA and former state president of Congress who is contesting the by-election, told The Federal.

The rebellion

The ongoing Lok Sabha election in Himachal Pradesh is the first litmus test for Sukhu after he became chief minister and also after the rebellion by several Congress leaders earlier this year.

While the chief minister received repeated complaints from party MLAs, the problem for Sukhu aggravated in March during the Rajya Sabha elections when the Congress leadership fielded Abhishek Manu Singhvi as its candidate from Himachal Pradesh.

However, the MLAs cross-voted against Singhvi and he lost the election.

‘We are not sheep’

“We are MLAs and not sheep that you can herd us as you like. The decision to choose a candidate for Rajya Sabha election was not discussed with us. We have a lot of other complaints against the chief minister, because he has not fulfilled his election promises,” added Thakur.

The problem for the Congress is also likely to increase, as the possibility of more rebellions cannot be ruled out against Sukhu. According to the rebel MLAs who are now members of the BJP, several MLAs are unhappy with Sukhu.

“There has been absolutely no development activity in Himachal Pradesh since the government came to power. The state leadership does not listen to the problems of the MLAs or the difficulties they face in their constituencies because election promises are not being fulfilled. There are more MLAs who have complaints against the chief minister,” Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, another rebel Congress MLA now with the BJP, told The Federal.

More MLAs may rebel

The problems for the Himachal Pradesh government are certain to increase even before the results of Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly by-polls are out. Senior BJP leadersbelieve that after the Lok Sabha elections are over and the process of government formation is complete at the centre, more Congress MLAs may rebel against the Sukhu government.

“When we spoke against the chief minister and the state leadership, we had the support of at least 15 MLAs. The six MLAs resigned from the assembly, and we decided to contest elections again. There are three more MLAs who have resigned, but their resignations have not been accepted by the Speaker of the assembly. The government is in minority in Himachal Pradesh,” Thakur said.

Thakur further said that the MLAs are also against the state Congress leadership because a malicious campaign has been started against the rebel MLAs and the BJP is helping them. “We have joined the BJP and we decided to contest elections because we serve the people. It is the will of the people in democracy that they elected us, and we are confident of winning again. Since people have given us responsibility, we have to fulfil the promises made to the people,” said Thakur.