Sukhu gets stability in state, BJP grabs limelight in Himachal LS
Shimla: With the BJP sweeping all four Lok Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, but performing poorly in the bypoll to six Assembly constituencies—one of its candidates even losing security deposits—the politics in the hill state has taken a dynamic turn.
While Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, facing the virtual collapse of his 17-month-old government, has secured his position due to his party’s victory in four out of the six Assembly seats, the BJP’s attempt to overturn the government seems to have been thwarted.
Until the declaration of the results for the Parliamentary seats and state assemblies (bypoll), the Leader of Opposition, Jairam Thakur, had been repeatedly forecasting the collapse of the Sukhu government, believing that the party would achieve a splendid victory in the bypolls.
The strength of the Congress in the 68-member house was reduced to 34, down from 40 in February 2024, following the disqualification of six rebel MLAs after they cross-voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha election, enabling Harsh Mahajan of the BJP to win the seat.
The Congress fell short of the halfway mark in the House, thus being in the minority.
The BJP, which had won only 25 seats in the 2022 Assembly poll, was confident about its strength increasing if the party won all six seats, owing to the Modi factor prevailing in the state vis-à-vis the Lok Sabha poll.
Thus, the BJP had also been pressing for the acceptance of the resignation of three independents—Hoshiar Singh (Dehra), K L Thakur (Nalagarh), and Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur)—who had resigned from the House and joined the BJP.
However, because of a complaint filed against them by the state’s revenue minister, Jagat Singh Negi, alleging that the MLAs had resigned under pressure from the BJP, the Speaker did not take a decision, even though the MLAs had also filed a case in the High Court.
Winning four Assembly seats, Sukhu has steered the government through troubled waters, turning it into a majority, although three more bypolls will be held.
“It is true the Congress candidate’s victory in four Assembly constituencies has given stability to the government. The BJP’s attempt to destabilize the government has been foiled. Further, as the BJP could not secure a majority on its own in the center, the next plan by the BJP to create troubles in Himachal Pradesh will be a remote possibility,” he says.
