Himachal crisis: Who are 6 Congress MLAs who voted for BJP during RS polls

Himachal Pradesh is engulfed in a political crisis over the fears of a potential collapse of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government, triggered by the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha elections held in the state on Tuesday.

BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal, despite the BJP having only 25 MLAs in the hill state against Congress' 40 legislators. The victory became possible after six Congress MLAs and three independent MLAs allegedly cross-voted in the BJP's favour, triggering a political crisis for the Sukhu government.

The rebel MLAs and independent legislators were flown to Haryana's Panchkula on Tuesday evening and brought back to Shimla on Wednesday, giving rise to speculations that the BJP might be able to topple the Congress government, which is facing a potential loss of support.

Who are the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted?

The six Congress MLAs who voted for the BJP include Sujanpur MLA Rajinder Rana and Lahaul-Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur. Reports emerged that the MLAs were unhappy with Sukhu's leadership and felt "neglected."

The other legislators include Dharamsala MLA Sudhir Sharma, Indradutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Chaitanya Sharma (Gagret) and Devendra Bhutto (Kutlehar).

Notably, Rana had expressed discontent with Sukhu earlier this week, when he said he wouldn't accept any cabinet positions now asserting that "insult of voters" of his constituency would not be tolerated.

Three independent MLAs also voted in the BJP's favour and have been kept at an undisclosed location along with the Congress MLAs. These include Dehra MLA Hoshyar Singh, Nalagarh MLA K L Thakur, and Hamirpur MLA Ashish Sharma.

What did CM Sukhu say on Himachal crisis?

Amid the escalation, as reports emerged that Sukhu has resigned from his post, the CM addressed a press conference on Wednesday morning, refuting the claims. He assured that the Congress will complete its five-year tenure and exuded confidence in having a majority.

Meanwhile, the Congress top brass has taken steps to defuse the tensions, with Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi observing the developments themselves. Kharge also asked Himachal AICC in-charge of the state Rajeev Shukla to speak to all MLAs, including those who are disgruntled, and submit a comprehensive report. The future course of action will be decided after that, senior leader Jairam Ramesh said.