BY A STAFF In a significant move, BJP nominated the six rebel former Congress MLAs to contest in the upcoming by-elections of Himachal Pradesh on March 26, Tuesday.
BJP released a list of candidates to contest in by-elections of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and West Bengal. The six MLAs who cross-voted for the BJP during the Rajya Sabha elections in Himachal joined the BJP on Saturday.
Furthermore, BJP fielded Sudhir Sharma in Dharamshala, Ravi Thakur in Lahaul and Spiti, Rajinder Rana in Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal in Barsar, Chaitanya Sharma in Gagret and Devinder Kumar Bhutto in Kutlehar.
Moreover, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu took a dig at BJP and accused them of engaging in horse-trading. He further asserted that the people of Himachal will teach them a lesson.
However, the Supreme Court refused to stay Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker's order to disqualify the six Rebel Congress leaders on March 18, Monday.
Moreover, the Top Court also refused to permit them to vote or participate in further house proceedings. the Congress MLAs were disqualified by the Himachal Assembly Speaker under the anti-defection law for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections.
Moreover, Congress lost the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh during Rajya Sabha elections as six of its MLAs cross-voted for BJP, resulting in Harsh Mahajan's victory.