Six rebel Congress leaders from Himachal Pradesh have taken their case to the Supreme Court, challenging the decision of the Assembly Speaker to disqualify them. The Speaker took this action on February 29, disqualifying the six Congress MLAs for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls. The disqualified members under the anti-defection law include Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal.
According to reports, following the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress held 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats were occupied by independents. In the recent Rajya Sabha elections, the six rebel legislators cross-voted, resulting in a 34-34 tie, as the BJP, with only 25 MLAs, secured nine additional votes. The tie was ultimately broken by drawing lots, and the BJP candidate emerged victorious.
Despite facing criticism from Congress leaders and internal divisions within the state unit, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu remained undeterred. He asserted on Saturday that he still enjoys the support of 80 percent of MLAs. Sukhu attributed the cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha elections to alleged horse-trading by the BJP and emphasized that it is the opposition’s role to make accusations.
