BJP nominates all 6 former Congress MLAs for Himachal Pradesh Assembly bypolls
PTC News Desk: All six disqualified Congress legislators, along with three Independents, who recently joined the BJP, have been selected as candidates for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh assembly bypolls. The announcement came after the six disqualified MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto – along with the Independents, joined the BJP in New Delhi, in the presence of prominent party leaders including Union Minister Anurag Thakur and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Sudhir Sharma will contest from Dharamshala, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar. The bypolls for these six seats are scheduled for June 1, coinciding with the seventh phase of the general elections.
The six MLAs were disqualified on February 29 for defying the Congress party's whip during a crucial vote in the assembly. BJP leaders highlighted the developmental initiatives undertaken by the Central government and emphasised the former MLAs' decision to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. The defection of these Congress leaders to the BJP is viewed as a significant political development in the state. Last month, the BJP won the Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh with the support of nine MLAs, leading to a political crisis for the Congress government.
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With the disqualification of the six Congress MLAs, the ruling party's strength in the assembly decreased to 33 out of 62 seats. The BJP, on the other hand, holds 25 seats. The resignations of three Independent MLAs further reduced the assembly's strength, posing challenges to the Congress government's stability.
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(Inputs from agencies)
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