Cross-Voting Reports Suggest Congress Loss in Himachal Pradesh: Jairam Thakur

On Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserted that the Congress government led by Sukhvinder Sukhu Sikhu has lost its majority in the hill state, following reports of cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha elections.

Reports indicate that a minimum of nine out of the 40 Congress MLAs have cast votes in support of the BJP candidate. The BJP nominated Harsh Mahajan to contest against Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the Upper House seat from Himachal Pradesh.

According to BJP leader and former CM Jairam Thakur, it appears evident that the government has lost its majority in the state. When questioned about whether his party intends to seek a trust vote, Thakur responded, “The budget is scheduled for presentation tomorrow. We will deliberate on the budget and assess the situation thereafter. However, it is apparent to me that the government no longer holds the majority.”

In the 2022 Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress emerged victorious with 40 seats in the 68-member house, while the BJP secured 25 seats. If the Congress indeed loses the support of 9 MLAs, as rumored, its representation would decrease to 31 MLAs, falling short of the majority mark of 35 in the assembly.

After casting his vote, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that the MLAs have voted by the party’s ideology.