In anticipation of the forthcoming legislative session, the Chief Executive of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, has convened an informal morning assembly for all Congress Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in Shimla on Thursday. This gathering holds significant importance, and its outcome remains uncertain. Describing the occasion, party MLA Ashish Butail characterized it as an unorthodox rendezvous.
Congress MLA Sudarshan Singh Bablu remarked, “The Chief Executive has summoned everyone for a morning repast. The nature of the discussions remains to be seen. We received notification late last night. The governance under the Chief Executive’s guidance will persist. On the preceding Wednesday, individual meetings between Congress MLAs and the two central overseers, DK Shivakumar and Bhupendra Hooda, took place.
The overseers are expected to present their findings to the party’s central leadership. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, is poised to deliver a verdict on the fate of six dissenting Congress MLAs who cast votes against party lines in the Rajya Sabha elections. Congress MLA and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Harsh Wardhan Chauhan filed a petition under the anti-defection law seeking the disqualification of these six MLAs.
The Speaker disclosed on Wednesday that the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs had initiated proceedings against the six Congress MLAs due to violations of the anti-defection law. The Congress-led administration in the state faces a critical juncture following the defection of six MLAs, who are reportedly in contact with the BJP.
With 40 Congress MLAs and 25 from the BJP in the 68-member state assembly, the political landscape is tense. The remaining three seats are occupied by independent representatives. The Congress successfully navigated the passage of the state budget after the Speaker suspended 15 BJP MLAs, accusing them of causing disruptions in the chamber—an action met with strong censure from the BJP.
The BJP, with its 25 MLAs, saw an increase to 34 following the Rajya Sabha voting, posing a threat to the stability of the government. BJP leader Jairam Thakur asserted, “We had to ensure the budget’s approval, or the government would collapse. To achieve this, the number of BJP MLAs had to be diminished. Fifteen MLAs, including myself, were suspended. Our suspension was a strategy to safeguard the Congress government. Subsequently, they successfully ratified the budget.” The BJP contends that the Congress, having lost the majority in the Assembly, has forfeited its moral authority to govern.