Decode Politics: After Rajya Sabha cross-voting, why Congress govt in Himachal hangs in the balance

In a shock result, the BJP emerged victorious on Tuesday in the election for the single vacant Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress is in power, with 40 MLAs in the 68-member Assembly. While the defeat is embarrassing for the Congress, which was expecting its nominee, senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, to sail through, now there is a possibility of its government collapsing, should it fail to pass the Budget in the ongoing Session.

As the Session began, 15 BJP MLAs, including LoP Jai Ram Thakur, Vipin Singh Parmar, Randheer Sharma, Lokender Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Hans Raj, Janak Raj, Balbir Verma, Trilok Jamwal, Surender Shori, Deep Raj, Puran Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dileep Thakur and Inder Singh Gandhi, were suspended by the Assembly Speaker for allegedly shouting slogans and misconduct in his Chambers.

Though the Congress enjoys an outright majority in the Assembly that should have won Singhvi the seat, the BJP forced an election by nominating former Congress leader Harsh Mahajan as its candidate.

In the voting on Tuesday, the BJP, which has just 25 MLAs, managed to secure 9 additional votes. The vote thus ended in a 34-34 tie, with three Independents and six Congress MLAs cross-voting for the BJP. Mahajan ended up winning after the result was decided with a draw of lots.

“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,” said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday.

The BJP has said that the Rajya Sabha results show that the Sukhu-led Congress government has lost its majority.