BJP's Harsh Mahajan wins Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal; Congress says 5-6 MLAs 'taken away'

Tensions brew up in Congress in Himachal Pradesh as its MLA cross-voted for Rajya Sabha polls.

Harsh Mahajan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, has been declared the winner in what appears to be a likely case of cross-voting from the Congress legislators.

"Despite having a huge majority, Congress has lost the Rajya Sabha seat. I congratulate Harsh Mahajan," BJP leader and former chief minister Jairam Thakur said.

Shortly before Mahajan's victory was announced, state chief minister and Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu alleged that five or six of his MLAs have been taken to the neighbouring BJP-ruled Haryana. They were accompanied by the Central Reserve Police Force, he said.

Notably, the Congress had fielded its veteran leader and former Union minister Abhishek Manu Singhvi against Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls in the state.

Party sources said six Congress MLAs along with three other independents have voted in favour of Mahajan. With MLAs showing support to the BJP,  the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, which was formed in 2022, could face a turmoil.

The party, which came to power in the 68-member House, has a strength of 40 MLAs, and the opposition BJP has 25 legislators on its side. If Congress MLAs jump ship to the saffron party, it could face the possibility of losing power in the state.

The Congress may slip below the halfway majority mark of 35 seats if six of its MLAs desert the party. Reports said that the BJP could be planning to bring a no-confidence motion against the Congress government.

Jairam Thakur, earlier in the day, said it appeared as if the government has lost the majority. “Budget will be presented tomorrow. We will discuss the Budget tomorrow and then we will see the situation there. But I can see that the government has lost the majority," he said.

Sources said that the Congress leaders were dissatisfied with the high command’s choice of announcing Singhvi, an outsider to state's politics, as the Rajya Sabha candidate.

Sensing trouble within the Congress camp, the BJP quickly announced Harsh Mahajan, a former Congress veteran, as its candidate for the election.

Congress insiders claimed that the party's senior state leaders have conveyed to the high-command that the disgruntled MLAs will come back to the party fold if Sukhu is removed as the chief minister.