"CM Sukhu should resign from his position...": LoP Jai Ram Thakur after Congress loses Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], February 27 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
With both Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Harsh Mahajan and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi getting 34 votes each, the winner was decided through a draw of lots.
"I can say that an atmosphere is prevailing in the country where everyone is quitting the Congress. I thank all BJP MLAs, Congress MLAs who helped us, and Independent MLAs as well," LoP told reporters.
He further said that for the MLAs, the credit goes to the BJP leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We are rightly saying that looking at this victory, the Himachal Pradesh CM should resign from his position...The MLAs have left him just within a year," he added.
BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan, who was pitted against Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi, called the win "the victory of the BJP, Narendra Modi, and Amit Shah".
In a big setback for the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, the party's nominee for Rajya Sabha polls, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, lost the poll as "nine MLAs including six from the party cross-voted".
Singhvi addressed a press conference later and conceded defeat while noting that the MLAs who had cross-voted had taught him "a lot about human nature, its fickleness".
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who was present at the press conference, accused the MLAs who had cross-voted of having "sold their honesty". Answering queries, he expressed confidence of the party overcoming any challenge to its majority in the assembly.
Congratulating his rival candidate Harsh Mahajan for the victory in Rajya Sabha polls, Singhvi took a dig at BJP for fielding a candidate for Rajya Sabha polls when the party did not have a majority in the assembly. BJP has 25 members in the state assembly.
"First of all, I extend heartiest congratulations to Harsh Mahajan (BJP candidate), he has won. He deserves my congratulations. I would like to tell his party introspect and think. When a 25-member party fields a candidate against a 43-member party, there is just one message we will shamelessly do that which is not permitted by the law," Singhvi said.
He said those who had cross-voted were with them for dinner yesterday and some of them for the breakfast in the morning.
"I would also like to thank the nine persons (MLAs) because they have taught me a lot about human nature, its fickleness, or its resoluteness. They supped with us...So, I think we are bad judges of human character, they are obviously better judges of human character," he said.
Sukhu said of the nine who had cross-voted, three were independent MLAs.
"When someone has sold out their honesty...Nine cross-votings took place, three of them were Independent MLAs but six others sold their honesty...and voted against him (Abhishek Singhvi)," he said.
Asked about speculations of the BJP bringing a No Confidence Motion against him, Sukhu said majority will be decided on the floor of the assembly.
Sixty-seven of the total 68 legislators exercised their votes in the Rajya Sabha election in Shimla. (ANI)