HP: Speaker accepts resignation of 3 Ind MLAs

Shimla: The politics in the gentle hill state are all set to take a new turn, with another phase of bypolls looming for the 68-member Assembly. The development comes in the wake of Speaker Kuldeep Pathania’s decision to accept the resignation of three Independent MLAs, who had also voted for the BJP Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan, and later resigned from the House to contest elections on the BJP tickets. The speaker’s decision came just a day before the results of four Lok Sabha seats and six by-elections to the state Assembly, and is being considered significant to give hope of stability to Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. The strength of the Congress in the House was reduced to 34 from 40 after the disqualification of the six party rebels for defying the Congress whip to vote for the state’s budget for the year 2024-25 on February 28. Six rebels had cross-voted for the Rajya Sabha in favor of the BJP candidate. The Congress candidate Abhishek Mani Singhvi lost the seat to the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan in the February 27 polling. The Independent MLAs whose resignations have been accepted include Hoshiar Singh (Dehra), Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur), and K L Thakur (Nalagarh). Now, once the byelection to six Assembly constituencies is complete, the process will begin for elections to three vacant seats. MPOST