Congress govt in Himachal is in minority, may collapse, claims ex-CM Jairam Thakur

The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has lost the majority, former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur claimed on Tuesday. He said the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government is in a minority in Himachal.

When asked if the State BJP would demand a floor test, Thakur, the Leader of the Opposition, said, "The budget will be presented tomorrow. We will discuss the budget tomorrow and then we will see the situation there. But I can see that the government has lost the majority."

Thakur's claim comes after reports emerged, saying that 9 of 40 Congress MLAs may have cross-voted for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections held on Tuesday. In the 2022 assembly polls, the Congress secured 40 of 68 seats while the BJP won 25.

The BJP has fielded Harsh Mahajan against Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha polls. Reports suggest that many Congress MLAs were not happy with Singhvi.

Therefore, 9 legislators may have voted for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections, speaking fears that the grand old party may land in trouble if the BJP decides to go for the trust vote.  

Earlier today, sources told India Today that Himachal Pradesh, where one Rajya Sabha berth is up for grabs, may see cross-voting by at least 9 MLAs. The MLAs that could cross-vote are: Sudhir Sharma, Rajender Rana, Devender Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Aashish Sharma (IND), K L Thakur (IND).

In Himachal, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan, who is facing off against Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi, claimed all MLAs of the grand old party had been in touch with him prior to the polls.

Chief Minister and Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, however, said, "We have 40 MLAs. Agar koi bika nahi hoga toh humein 40/40 votes aayenge (If none of our MLAs were bought, we will get 40/40 votes)."