HP News: On Friday in Delhi, three Independent MLAs and six Congress dissidents from Himachal Pradesh who supported a BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections last month joined the party. Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur constituency), Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), and KL Thakur (Nalagarh) are the three Independents who announced their intention to join the BJP along with their resignation to Assembly Secretary Yash Paul Sharma on Friday.
By-Elections Following Disqualification of Congress Lawmakers
In the 2022 Assembly elections, the three Independents had applied for BJP tickets; however, they were turned down and decided to run as Independents instead. Nevertheless, the three Independents backed the administration when it was later established by the Congress with 40 lawmakers.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, according to the Independent MLAs, has descended to the point where he is accusing them and their families of crimes and pursuing bogus complaints against them. On June 1, the Indian Election Commission declared that six assembly seats that were left empty following the disqualification of Congress lawmakers and four Lok Sabha seats will be up for by-elections.
Chief Minister Sukhu’s Response
Chief Minister Sukhu, meantime, stated that the Independent MLAs ought to have respected the will of the people and not resigned. According to him, it needs to be investigated whether money played a role in the entire incident or if the MLAs were under duress.
The disqualification of six Congress MLAs reduced the ruling Congress’s strength in the 68-member Assembly from 40 to 34, including the speaker. 25 people make up the BJP.
