Who will rule Himachal Pradesh to be decided with Lok Sabha elections-2024? By-polls are being held on these assembly seats…

Shimla: Amidst the fervor of the Lok Sabha Elections-2024, discussions are heating up regarding the by-elections on 6 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. Essentially, alongside the Lok Sabha elections, it will be determined whose government will rule Himachal Pradesh. It will be decided if Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's current government will continue or if BJP will dislodge it. 

By-polls are to be held on these assembly seats

By-elections are scheduled to be held on the assembly seats of Dharamshala, Lahaul Spiti, Barsar, Sujanpur, Gagret, and Kutlehar in Himachal Pradesh are included. These seats were held by Congress MLAs, but political circumstances changed during and after the Rajya Sabha elections in February.

In the State Legislative Assembly, the ruling Congress has a majority with 34 MLAs, while the BJP currently has 25 MLAs. If the BJP wins on all 6 seats in these elections, their MLA count would reach 31. With three independent MLAs supporting the BJP, this could potentially equalize the numbers of Congress and BJP.

6 Cong MLAs cross voted during RS polls

During the Rajya Sabha elections, discontent with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's style of governance led six MLAs to cross vote, benefiting BJP and dealing a significant blow to Congress. Even after being in power, Congress couldn't send Abhishek Manu Singhvi to the Rajya Sabha. After the unsuccessful attempt to topple the Sukhu government, these rebellious MLAs switched sides. Now, all these rebel MLAs are in the fray on BJP tickets in the by-election arena.

The future of Sukhu's government hinges on these by-elections, especially for the Chief Minister himself. If he wants to save his government, Congress candidates must win on all these 6 seats. CM is making vigorous efforts towards this goal. 

3 independent MLAs support BJP

It's worth noting that three independent MLAs are in support of BJP, but so far, the Speaker of the Assembly has not accepted the resignations of these independent MLAs. Chief Minister Sukhu is putting all his effort into winning on all these 6 seats in the by-elections. If Congress manages to win even 2 or 3 seats, it could prevent the defection of MLAs and save Sukhu's government.