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Sukhvinder Sukhu-led Congress government in crisis: Here's how numbers stack up in Himachal Pradesh

2024-02-28 00:00:00.0 铸币报-政治原网页

Vikramaditya Singh's resignation has left the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh on the brink with the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government has lost the majority in the House.

In that case, the Congress is on the brink of losing Himachal Pradesh, the only state in the north that it governs. If the BJP has its way, the government will face a trust vote in the assembly.

Also Read: Meet Vikramaditya Singh, the royal who turns Congress rebel in Himachal Pradesh

Any party or coalition is eligible to form the government if it crosses the majority mark in the House. For the 68-member Himachal Pradesh assembly, the majority mark is 35.

Before Rajya Sabha Polls

So, how do numbers stack up in the 68-member House in Himachal Pradesh? In the 2022 election, the Congress won 40 seats, giving it a comfortable victory. It also got support from the three independent MLAs. The BJP won 35 seats. So, until the February 27 Rajya Sabha election, there was no doubt the Congress had a comfortable majority.

After Rajya Sabha Polls

But things have changed due to the Rajya Sabha elections on February 27. If the nine MLAs (six Congress and three independents) who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls continue to be in the Opposition camp, the ruling dispensation is left with 34 members. In that case, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will, in all likelihood, face a floor test which will be difficult for him to win.

Suspension or expulsion

The speaker of assembly expelled 15 BJP MLAs, including former chief minister Jairam Thakur for sloganeering and alleged misconduct on February 28. Apart from Thakur, the other suspended MLAs are Vipin Singh Parmar, Randheer Sharma, Lokender Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Hans Raj, Janak Raj, Balbir Verma, Trilok Jamwal, Surender Shori, Deep Raj, Puran Thakur, Inder Singh Gandhi, Dileep Thakur and Inder Singh Gandhi.

Also Read: Himachal Pradesh: DK Shivakumar enroute to Shimla to resolve Congress political crisis as MLA Vikramaditya resigns

In case of expulsion of 15 members, the strength of the House comes down to 53. And the new majority mark will be 27. In this case, the Congress will clear a trust vote quite comfortably with 34 MLAs. However, any further defections will hurt the Congress party.

However, if it is only suspension, instead of expulsion, the House strength remains at 68, and the majority mark at 35. That will not be good news for the Congress party.

Sources said the Congress party has written to the speaker to take action against its six MLAs who cross-voted. In the scenario of expulsion of these legislators, the House strength will also come down in favour of the Congress party.

In any case, the Congress has appointed Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivkumar and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda as observers for Himachal Pradesh to resolve the crisis. The two leaders will be in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.

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