Congress issues whip for Rajya Sabha polls, Sukhu faces battle of prestige
The Congress has issued a whip for all its legislators to remain present for voting on February 27 and for the scheduled Congress legislature Party meeting at the luxurious five-star Cecil Hotel, which is situated in the vicinity of Vidhan Sabha
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukvinder Singh Sukhu, who has been at the helm for 14 months, is all set to face a battle of prestige on February 27, the date of Rajya Sabha polling in Himachal.
The Congress has issued a whip for all its legislators to remain present for voting on February 27 and for the scheduled Congress legislature Party meeting at the luxurious five-star Cecil Hotel, which is situated in the vicinity of Vidhan Sabha.
As one of the three seats in Himachal fell vacant on the expiry of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda’s term, the Congress fielded prominent Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the seat. Dashing the hopes of the Congress of winning unopposed, the BJP nominated its core committee member Harsh Mahajan, who made the saffron switch from the Congress ahead of the assembly elections.
The Congress and BJP are leaving no stone unturned to accumulate the requisite number of votes. Although Congress has a clear majority, with 40 MLAs in the 68-strong house, it fears cross-voting and is maintaining contact with “unsatisfied” legislators.
The BJP has 25 members and three MLAs are independents. Congress leaders are also in touch with the three independent members, Hoshiyar Singh, Ashish Sharma and KL Thakur.
Congress legislature party met at the Vidhan Sabha campus and the three independent candidates were also present during the discussions. However, Congress’s MLA from Sujanpur Rajender Rana, who has upped his ante against the government, was absent from the meeting.
Rana shot into the limelight after he defeated former Himachal chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 assembly elections from the Sujanpur seat.
Sukhu denied the possibility of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, citing that according to Supreme Court, the legislators will have to show their ballot before casting them.
“The authorised agent could declare a vote invalid if an MLA does not show the ballot. The party is united and there is no chance of the cross-voting, it’s just hype being created by opponents,” says industries and parliamentary affairs minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, a senior minister in the government.
All India Congress Committee general secretary and Hiamchal affairs in-charge Rajeev Shukla will be at the meeting, apart from Singhvi. Harshwardhan Chauhan issued the whip.
Harsh Mahajan, however, has expressed confidence of his victory and has urged the Congress legislators to vote from his own conscience.
“I am requesting the Congress legislator from their own conscience,” said Mahajan.
The BJP has already claimed that Congress MLAs were in touch with saffron party’s leadership. Mahajan has been an animal husbandry minister and a three-time MLA on Congress mandate. Rajya Sabha elections are also seen as a litmus test for Sukhu as the party now prepares for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
