The political drama in Himachal Pradesh took a new turn on Friday as Assembly Speaker Satpal Singh Satti disqualified six Congress MLAs who had cross-voted in favor of NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The six Congress rebels—Anirudh Singh, Asha Kumari, Sunder Singh Thakur, Lakhwinder Rana, Prakash Rana, and Kuldeep Singh Pathania—had broken ranks and supported Murmu instead of their own party’s candidate, Yashwant Sinha during the recent presidential polls.
Acting on the complaints filed by the Congress leadership, Satti disqualified the six turncoats under the anti-defection law. With this, the strength of the 68-member Himachal Assembly has now been reduced to 62.
The move comes as a big blow to the grand old party, which is now left with a wafer-thin majority with just 21 MLAs. The Opposition BJP has been quick to slam the disqualifications as ‘undemocratic’ and reflective of the Congress’ insecurities ahead of the state elections later this year.
The disgruntled MLAs themselves have cried foul, claiming they had voted as per their ‘conscience’ and vowing to challenge the controversial order in court. Political observers, however, see this as a deliberate rebellion by the six to undermine their own party’s government.
As Himachal gears up for Assembly polls, the Congress will now have to put up a united front to have any chance of retaining power. But with many disillusioned leaders and constant allegations of BJP engineering defections, the Congress faces an uphill battle to keep its flock together. The disqualifications have only deepened the political crisis brewing in the hill state.
