The Himachal Pradesh government is in a crisis after the opposition BJP pulled off a stunning Rajya Sabha win when six MLAs of the ruling Congress voted for its candidate, defying the party whip.
As rumours of his resignation floated on February 28, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was forced to clarify that he hadn’t quit and that his one-year-old government would last the whole term.
Read: Himachal crisis deepens as minister Vikramaditya resigns
The party high command has rushed Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar to the hill state to troubleshoot as factionalism had pushed the Congress’ only government in north India is on the brink.
Shivakumar was talking to leaders of the state unit to defuse tensions and ensure the survival of the government.
Amid the turmoil, 15 BJP MLAs were suspended for sloganeering during the proceedings of the House.
Here are five reasons for the deepening political crisis in the Himachal government:
1 Public Works Department (PWD) minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, resigned on February 28, expressing disappointment with the Sukhu’s leadership.
2 On February 27, six Congress MLAs voted for BJP’s Harsh Mahajan, a former Congress veteran, leading to the defeat of party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
3 Led by former chief minister Jairam Thakur, many BJP legislators governor Shiv Pratap Shukla amid a buzz over the party bringing a motion of no-confidence against the government.
4 In the 68-member House, the Congress has 40 MLAs but six of the “rebels” are in talks with the BJP leadership. If these MLAs leave the party, the Congress’ count will fall to 34, one short of the majority mark.
5 Several Congress MLAs were not happy with the high-command’s decision to field Delhi-based Singhvi for the lone Rajya Sabha seat. Differences had been simmering within the state unit over Sukhu being picked as the CM and the Rajya Sabha polls brought the differences out in the open.
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