New Delhi: Shocked over the latest rebellion in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress on Wednesday deployed trouble-shooters to resolve the crisis in the hill state and save the grand old party's only government in north India.
According to party insiders, back-channel efforts are on to convince the six rebel MLAs who have conveyed to the high command that they were miffed with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s style of functioning and are not against the Congress.
"Efforts are on to convince the rebels," All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary-in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Tajinder Pal Singh Bittu told ETV Bharat.
According to party insiders, before AICC observers former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shiv Kumar open talks with the rebel lawmakers, the local leaders are in touch with the dissenters.
After voting against the Congress Rajya Sabha nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Tuesday in Shimla, the rebel MLAs have been camping in nearby Panchkula. The Congress has 40 MLAs but six violated the party whip in the Rajya Sabha polls and voted for the BJP nominee Harsha Mahajan, who won in a tie.
"The central observers will arrive in the afternoon and start talking to the rebels. The local leaders are in touch with them. The Assembly session is on and nothing can be done before it ends in the evening," said a senior AICC functionary involved in the firefighting.
"I think the grudges of the rebel MLAs can be addressed by the party and the situation can be brought under control. I am sure this will be done. However, I think that if these MLAs had any issues with the Chief Minister, they should have shared their concerns within the party platforms and not precipitate a crisis," All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Chetan Chauhan told ETV Bharat.
According to party insiders, factional fights in the Himachal Pradesh unit had surfaced soon after the party had won the Assembly elections in 2022 and there were several claimants for the Chief Minister's post, including Sukhu, state unit chief Pratibha Singh and senior leader Mukesh Agnihotri.
"The same factional fight has resurfaced now. Pratibha Singh’s son and state minister Vikramaditya Singh has resigned and come out openly against the Chief Minister. Sukhu is a good man and is not at fault. He has been running the state government well for the past one and a half years and implementing the party's poll promises. Yet, these lawmakers chose to play into the BJP's hands first and are now demanding Sukhu's removal," said a senior AICC functionary.
According to party insiders, before resigning Vikramaditya had told the high command that he was not prepared to work with Sukhu. "I think the first target of the party would be to forge a consensus between the rebel MLAs and the Chief Minister and save the government. If the Chief Minister has to be removed, it has to be with Sukhu's consent. The BJP is once again playing its dirty tricks to topple an elected government," said Chauhan.
"Our main aim is to save the government. If we agree to the demands of the rebels now, they can make new demands later as well. The Chief Minister was named after due consultations. The high command never gets blackmailed like this. A final decision will be taken after the report of the observers comes," said a senior AICC functionary.
