Congress govt in danger in Himachal: 6 MLAs 'taken' to Haryana, alleges CM Sukhu

The Congress government in Himachal is in trouble as some of its MLAs sided with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections held on Tuesday. The Congress has 40 MLAs, but 6 legislators voted for the candidate, Harsh Mahajan, fielded by the BJP, dealing a severe blow to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government in Himachal.   

After winning the election, Majahan, once the political advisor to former Congress chief minister Virbhadra Singh, claimed that the Sukhu government would collapse in a few days. In Himachal, the Congress has 40 MLAs but if six leaders switch sides, the government will fall below the majority mark of 35. The BJP has 25 seats and there are 3 Independents. 

CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu alleged that five-six Congress MLAs were "taken away" in a convoy of CRPF and Haryana Police. "CRPF and Haryana Police convoy have taken away 5-6 MLAs. I can say that the people who have gone away are being contacted by their families, I urge them to contact their families. There is no need to worry," Sukhu said.

The MLAs have been taken to a government rest house in Haryana's Panchkula. The rest house has been closed to the public and media personnel are also being denied entry, he said. 

The Congress, which has a clear majority with 40 out of the 68 MLAs and the support of three independent MLAs, lost to BJP in polling for the lone Rajya Sabha seat. BJP's Harsh Mahajan won the Rajya Sabha polls following a neck-to-neck contest with Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Meanwhile, the BJP has accused Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of violating the model code of conduct. Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur alleged that Sukhu's helicopter was sent to bring Congress MLA from Sudarshan Babloo from Hoshiarpur in Punjab. He said the move was in violation of the model code of conduct.

(With inputs from Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu and Manjeet Sehgal)