Six Congress MLAs Disqualified by Himachal Speaker under Anti-Defection Law

On Thursday, the Speaker of Himachal Pradesh, Kuldeep Pathania, disqualified six Congress MLAs who had cross-voted in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections in the state. These MLAs had been absent during the Budget voting in the assembly and had defied a party whip to vote in favor of the government on the Finance Bill, leading to their disqualification under the provisions of the anti-defection law.

The disqualified MLAs, who are no longer members of the Himachal Vishan Sabha, include Rajinder Rana of Sujanpur, Sudhir Sharma of Dharamshala, Indradutt Lakhanpal of Barsar, Ravi Thakur of Lahaul and Spiti, Chaitanya Sharma of Gagret, and Davinder Bhutto of Kutlehar.

This development comes in the wake of a crisis in the Himachal Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu. The crisis began on Wednesday, following the defeat of Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the election for the state's lone Rajya Sabha seat, which resulted in the victory of BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan. The six disqualified Congress MLAs had voted in favor of the BJP candidate.

With the fate of Chief Minister Sukhu hanging in the balance, all eyes are now on the team of Congress observers currently stationed in Himachal Pradesh. After speaking with party MLAs, they are expected to submit a report on the unfolding situation in Himachal Pradesh to party President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday.