New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is safe for now and is not to be changed till the parliamentary elections are over, Congress insiders said on Thursday. “The situation is under control. The BJP tried to topple the state government but failed. The Sukhu government is safe,” AICC secretary in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Tajinder Pal Singh Bittu told ETV Bharat.
According to party insiders, the immediate crisis in the Sukhu government was over with the expulsion of the six rebel MLAs and minister Vikramaditya Singh taking back his resignation. The two steps were taken on the advice of the three central observers Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, who had been sent to Shimla on February 28 evening by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to diffuse the crisis.
“The expulsion is a strong message not only to the six MLAs, who voted against the party line and caused the embarrassing defeat of Rajya Sabha nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi, but it is also a reminder to other potential dissenters,” AICC secretary Chetan Chauhan told ETV Bharat.
“It can be understood that the MLAs had grudges against the Chief Minister, but they played into the hands of the BJP and precipitated a crisis for the party and the government. It was a BJP plan to topple the Sukhu government, but we foiled it. The expulsion of rebels occurred after it was realised that it may not be possible to bring them back into the party fold. Thankfully, the crisis is over,” said Chauhan.
The resignation of Vikramaditya Singh was seen as an open revolt against the Chief Minister and indicated that the problem was within. “His withdrawal of resignation will now send a message of normalcy and unity in the state unit,” said Chauhan.
According to party insiders, the expulsion of six rebels has helped the Congress have an upper hand in the state Assembly after the cross-voting episode on Tuesday. The expulsion has brought down the effective strength of the Assembly. In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the Congress had 40 MLAs, the BJP 25 and there were three Independents. In the February 27 Rajya Sabha poll, Congress nominee Singhvi had a tie with BJP’s Harsh Mahajan as both got 34 votes each. The BJP managed the score with the help of six Congress rebels and the three Independent MLAs while the Congress got six votes less than expected.
“The expulsion of the six rebels has now resulted in Congress having 34 MLAs, including the Speaker, and the BJP 28 if the three Independent lawmakers still choose to go with the saffron party,” said the AICC functionary. According to party insiders, the three central observers are likely to submit their report to the Congress president on Thursday evening, suggesting the status quo for now.
The reason is that though the Congress is projecting the Himachal Pradesh crisis as yet another attempt by the BJP to topple elected governments through unfair means, the grand old party’s managers are preparing for a legal battle in case the six BJP-backed rebel MLAs choose to approach the High Court against their disqualification by the Speaker, said a senior AICC functionary.
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