Troubles mount for Congress government in Himachal; six rebels, three independents join BJP

New Delhi [India], March 24 (ANI): In mounting troubles for the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, six party rebels and three independent MLAs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday.
All the six rebels had voted for the BJP candidate during the Rajya Sabha polls leading to Harsh Mahajan's surprise win from the hill state. Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the election.
The six Congress MLAs were disqualified by the Assembly Speaker for defying a whip to be present in the House during the state's budget session. The Election Commission has already announced bypolls on the six seats which will be held on June 1 along with polling on four Lok Sabha seats.
The Congress not only has to meet the BJP's challenge in the Lok Sabha polls but to focus on the six bypolls as the outcome is crucial for its survival.
BJP leader and former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur alleged that the Congress does not have the majority in the state.
"A very different political situation is there in the state. The reality is that the Congress party doesn't have the majority, the biggest example of this is that they have lost the Rajya Sabha seat, and also they have had to suspend 15 BJP MLAs to pass the budget," Thakur told ANI in Delhi.
"Filing FIR against the families of those MLAs who come in support of the BJP is wrong, hence all the 9 MLAs have decided to join the BJP and strengthen PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party's president JP Nadda," he added.
Himachal Congress leaders accused the BJP of trying to topple the party's government and said it will last full five years.
The six former Congress MLAs, who joined the BJP on Saturday, are Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala), Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti), Chaitanya Sharma (Gagret) and Davinder Kumar Bhutto (Kutlehar) and the independent MLAs are Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur), Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra), and KL Thakur (Nalagarh).
Welcoming the former MLAs into the BJP fold, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that number nine represents completeness, balance and perfection.
"If nine MLA's come out of Congress' total of 43 MLAs, you can imagine the poor state they are in. Since you have come, the BJP will get new strength, you will get respect here."
Himachal Pradesh Minister Rajesh Dharmani alleged BJP was adopting "undemocratic" methods
"We have already alleged that the BJP used immoral ways to win the Rajya Sabha elections and today it has been proven. The way the BJP is using money, muscle and agencies like ED to get into power isn't good for democracy and impacts society negatively...," Himachal Dharmani told ANI.
Davinder Kumar Bhutto said they had left Congress and joined the BJP so that they could aid the development of state under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We have left Congress and joined the BJP so that we could aid in the development of our state under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. We do not want any post, we have joined as party workers... Congress ignores its party workers and elected members. The Himachal government will definitely collapse soon," he said.

Ravi Thakur raised questions over the ruling of the assembly Speaker.
"Ninety per cent of the total budget of Himachal Pradesh comes from the Centre. This is why I voted for Harsh Mahajan, keeping my constituency of Lahaul-Spiti in mind," he said.
Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, who also joined the BJP, raised questions on the functioning of Congress government in the state.
He alleged that the Congress high command does not have influence and party workers are not respected.
Himachal MLA Chaitanya Sharma said that they had exercised their right and voted for Harsh Mahajan, a resident of Himachal Pradesh.
"What went behind all this needs to be discussed in great detail in the coming days. Talking about Rajya Sabha elections, with the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, every citizen is eligible to vote as per their conscience. We have just exercised our right and voted for a resident of Himachal Pradesh Harsh Mahajan... If the thoughts and ideas of a person are suppressed, and the person is sidelined, it is not just a loss of the person's self-respect but it is also a loss of the people who've elected the person," he added.
After joining the BJP, Sudhir Sharma said the purpose for which people had elected them was not getting fulfilled.
"If we are not being able to fulfill the things for which people have voted us to power, there is no purpose of being an MLA. So we decided to vote for Harsh Mahajan through open vote. We have decided to join the Bharatiya Janata Party and work as a BJP worker and fulfill all responsibilities," Sharma told ANI.
Rajinder Rana said that the Congress government has failed to fulfill the promises given to people and accused Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu of being dictatorial.
"None of the guarantees are getting fulfilled. People ask us about the promises given to them such as employment. He (Sukhu) was not listening to his MLAs. The government is run by Sukhu's friends. The government is on ventillator support. The Congress will be wiped out in the 2024 elections," Rana alleged.
After joining the BJP, Hoshiyar Singh, one of the three independent MLAs, said that governance in the state is in a poor state.
"Be it economic condition or law and order, things aren't going good in Himachal Pradesh. We are independent MLAs and we had every right to vote for the candidate whom we wanted in the Rajya Sabha election and we did. Since then, Congress party has been working with the mindset of revenge and they filed FIR against the MLAs and their families, this isn't good for the democracy," Hoshiyar Singh alleged.
"Developmental work has been completely at a halt in the last 15 months and hence we have decided this on our own (to resign and join the BJP). The government is on the ventilator, anything can happen at any time...," Singh added.
Ashish Sharma, another independent MLA who joined the BJP, said, they have taken this decision in the interest of the state and the constituency.
"The way this nation is moving forward under the leadership of PM Modi, it will be our fortune if we contribute something to it. No developmental work has been done under this government and is on a ventilator. It's a minority government that won't last long," he said.
KL Thakur, another independent MLA who joined the BJP, said the Congress government was formed with high hopes in the state "but it hasn't delivered on any of its promises".
"Earlier, the BJP government under the leadership of Jairam Thakur has done many works. But now, things are different. It seems this government won't last long, many of the MLAs (of Congress) are in contact with the BJP," Thakur claimed.
With the disqualification of the six MLAs, the number of Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh has come down to 34 from 40 in the 68-member House. (ANI)