The forthcoming election for one Rajya Sabha seat, falling vacant in April this year, is once again haunting the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh.
The BJP is reportedly gearing up for another possible “Operation Lotus,” eyeing a repeat of the 2023 Rajya Sabha poll, which the opposition party’s candidate Harsh Mahajan won amid high political drama.
Six Congress MLAs who had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha poll were later disqualified from the state Assembly for defying the whip during the passing of the budget. These six MLAs later joined the BJP and fought the by-poll, of whom two had won again.
BJP’s Indu Goswami will complete her Rajya Sabha tenure in April this year, paving the way for the election to one seat. The state has three Rajya Sabha seats. One seat has already gone to the BJP during the current Congress tenure, and the opposition party now appears prepared to create further trouble for the ruling Congress in yet another Rajya Sabha election. The third seat is held by BJP leader Sikander Kumar.
“The Congress party is set to face a crisis in the Rajya Sabha poll. I am telling this in advance,” said Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur.
Social media posts indicate adverse results for the Congress, which is already facing a crisis, with some ministers already at loggerheads over different issues.
The party is lacking strategy, while several Congress leaders are reportedly not comfortable with the leadership style of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who has alleging centralised everything.
In the 2023 Rajya Sabha election for one seat, the ruling Congress nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost to BJP’s Harsh Mahajan due to cross-voting by six Congress MLAs. Three Independent MLAs who also supported the BJP candidate later resigned from the Assembly and joined the BJP. They contested the by-elections on BJP ticket, but two of them were defeated.
At present, the Congress has a strength of 40 in the 68-member state Assembly, while the BJP has 28 MLAs. There are currently no Independent MLAs.
BJP sources said the party’s number engineering is being handled by Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan, who had surprised everyone by emerging as the BJP nominee in the last Rajya Sabha poll and afterward winning it. This time too, the BJP is expected to bring some surprises.
“Most of the Congress MLAs and ministers are upset with their own government as they are not happy with the working style of the Chief Minister. There is simmering discontent and this will definitely hang heavy on Congress in the ensuing poll,” Harsh Mahajan has often stated in the media.
Overall, the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for April will be a litmus test for the ruling Congress. Last time, the Chief Minister had alleged that Congress MLAs cross-voted due to money games, dismissing other reasons related to governance and internal party issues.
Many concerns raised earlier by Congress President Pratibha Singh remain unresolved, according to her loyalists. The simmering discontent is also visible in remarks by her son, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who recently expressed displeasure over the working of IAS and IPS officers from outside Himachal Pradesh, particularly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The Congress party is yet to decide its candidate. While the name of former Congress president Pratibha Singh is currently doing the rounds, the internal rift within the party continues over multiple issues. Adding to the discomfort is a vigilance inquiry into the HIMUDA land scam in Haroli, the constituency of Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri in Una district, which has emerged as another irritant for the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha poll.
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