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BJP fields 6 Cong rebels in Himachal assembly bypolls
Sudhir Sharma has been nominated from Dharamshala, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chetanya Sharma from Gagret and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday named six former Congress MLAs, disqualified from the House, as its candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly bypolls.
Sudhir Sharma has been nominated from Dharamshala, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chetanya Sharma from Gagret and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar.
All six of them switched over to the BJP from the Congress on March 23, nearly a month after being disqualified from the House for defying a party whip to be present and vote in favour of the Congress-led government during the cut motions and budget.
They joined the BJP in the national capital in the presence of Union minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, party national general secretary Arun Singh, and state unit president Rajeev Bindal.
Ex-minister quits BJP to protest ticket to Cong rebel, to contest bypolls
Former Himachal Pradesh minister and BJP leader from Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency, Ram Lal Markanda, announced his resignation from the BJP on Tuesday. His decision came in protest against the party’s nomination of Congress rebel Ravi Thakur for the upcoming assembly bypolls. Thakur had defeated Markanda in the last assembly election.
Hours after the BJP’s announcement of assembly tickets to all six former Congress MLAs disqualified from the House, Markanda made his decision public. He declared his intention to contest the bypoll from Lahaul and Spiti, possibly as a Congress candidate. Additionally, all office-bearers of the BJP’s Lahaul and Spiti block unit resigned in solidarity with Markanda and pledged their support for his candidacy in the byelection.
Markanda, who served as the agriculture and tribal development minister in the previous BJP government led by Jai Ram Thakur, expressed disappointment with the BJP’s decision. He had lost the 2022 assembly elections to Thakur, who was then in the Congress, by a margin of 1542 votes. Markanda was considered a frontrunner for the BJP ticket from Lahaul and Spiti.
The Himachal Pradesh Assembly bypolls are scheduled for June 1, coinciding with the election for the state’s four Lok Sabha seats. Markanda confirmed his candidacy, stating, “I have left the BJP today along with my supporters and would definitely contest the assembly polls.”
Markanda further emphasized his commitment to the welfare and development of Lahaul and Spiti, stating, “My people want me to contest elections for the development of Lahaul and Spiti.” He criticized the BJP for nominating individuals who had expressed anti-reservation sentiments and had previously made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A meeting of the Lahaul and Spiti core committee has been scheduled to discuss future strategies. Markanda affirmed his determination to contest the assembly bypolls, with the possibility of representing the Congress party.
‘Six MLAs who joined BJP felt suffocated in Sukhu govt’
Following the BJP’s announcement of all six former Congress MLAs as their candidates for the upcoming assembly bypolls, former assembly speaker and Sulah MLA, Vipin Singh Parmar, stated on Tuesday that these former legislators felt stifled within the Sukhu government.
Addressing the media in Dharamshala, Parmar claimed that the Congress-led government under Sukhu’s leadership is faltering in the state, leaving its leaders and workers dissatisfied. “The Congress has been in power for the past 14 months, yet it has brought about a state of chaos. These legislators have been neglected during this period, leading them to support BJP candidates during the Rajya Sabha polls,” he said, adding that CM Sukhu has “failed to maintain unity among his MLAs”.
“In addition to these MLAs, the other three Independent legislators have also expressed similar sentiments towards the current government,” Parmar said.
Meanwhile, Himachal Agriculture minister, Chander Kumar said that voters should close their doors for these leaders who have cheated their mandate. “The BJP has declared all six former Congress MLAs as their candidates for byelections despite the fact that the case is still pending before the Supreme Court,” he said.
“BJP has tried to topple the Congress government in the state, but all the remaining 34 MLAs are standing with CM Sukhu,” he said.
Kumar, who is also the in-charge of Kangra-Chamba parliamentary constituency, said that for the upcoming polls, the party is ready for the polls and the candidates will be announced soon.
With inputs from Dar Ovais
