In the midst of hullabaloo over the discontinuation of Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG), according to the recommendation of the 16th Finance Commission, the run-up to the Rajya Sabha poll to one seat on March 16 brings yet another challenge for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government in Himachal Pradesh.
One of the three Rajya Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh is falling vacant with the tenure of BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP from Kangra district, Indu Goswami, coming to an end. The Congress is in power in Himachal and should supposedly win the Rajya Sabha election. However, the political crisis created in the previous Rajya Sabha election in February 2024 still haunts the ruling party, as the opposition BJP seems geared up again to play the same gimmick.
In 2024, the Congress nominee, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a paratrooper from Delhi, at the instance of the Congress high command, lost the election to opposition BJP’s candidate, Harsh Mahajan, who joined the fray at the 11th hour and managed cross-voting by six Congress MLAs and support of three Independent MLAs for victory.
After cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election, the six Congress MLAs had skipped the passing of the budget in the Assembly against the whip, which led to their disqualification from the assembly. All of them contested on BJP tickets in the by-polls later, and only two of them could win back the election.
Although there is much time to go for the poll, the Congress party has started working on possible names for Rajya Sabha candidature. Asked if the BJP repeats the 2024 game in the ensuing Rajya Sabha poll, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “I cannot do anything if somebody is ready to get sold.” He said the Congress high command would decide the candidate for the Rajya Sabha election.
The BJP, on the other hand, is quiet on the choice or strategy so far, and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur has mentioned that the party high command would decide the issue. Internally, there is a lot of political discussion and activity within the BJP and Congress over the Rajya Sabha poll.
The Congress party faced a lot of embarrassment last time over losing to the opposition party, and the following high drama, wherein even Congress ministers and MLAs had used that opportunity to speak against the Chief Minister’s rude attitude as a reason for six MLAs voting against the Congress. There were many voices of dissent within the Congress organisation also, including the then Congress chief Pratibha Singh, who had openly said party men were being ignored by the Chief Minister.
In the heat of the moment, her son, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, had submitted his resignation, which he later withdrew at the instance of the high command. The Congress high-ups had to personally intervene and form a coordination committee for Himachal to patch up between the warring factions after the Rajya Sabha poll, as there was simmering discontent which had taken dangerous proportions within no time, mainly because of the alleged autocratic behaviour of those at the helm of affairs.
Later on, by-polls had to be conducted on nine seats, as three Independents had also resigned from the Assembly to join and contest on BJP tickets. The Congress, which had come down to 34 in the 68-member Assembly after the disqualification of six Congress MLAs, regained majority by touching the original figure of 40 again, winning six out of nine by-polls. The BJP had risen from 25 to 28 seats, winning three by-polls. There are no Independents in the state assembly now.
The Rajya Sabha poll this time would be a litmus test for the Sukhu government once again, especially since Sukhu took over as CM in December 2022, there has been one or the other controversy within the Congress party, with many leaders, especially seniors who could play a great role in the government as experienced hands in the state, feeling ignored, humiliated and let down like never before, they alleged.
The opposition party in Himachal, which has nothing to lose, is reportedly working on a strategy to pose a challenge to the Congress party again in the Rajya Sabha poll.
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