Situation in Himachal 'completely under control': Congress amid political crisis in state

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday asserted that the situation in Himachal Pradesh is "completely under control" and the BJP has failed in its attempts to "destabilise the elected government" in the hill state.

The Congress government faces a crisis after the ruling party in the state lost the lone Rajya Sabha seat despite having the numbers due to cross-voting by some of its own MLAs, who are now siding with the BJP. The six MLAS who cross-voted have been disqualified by the Speaker and are likely to challenge their disqualification from the house.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said like other states, the BJP started the game of using money power, power of the government and muscle power to destabilise the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh but has failed.

"Various things are going around in the media regarding Himachal Pradesh. But we want to say one thing very clearly. The Prime Minister and the so-called 'Chanakya' have completely failed in Himachal. After the intervention of the Congress leadership and the promptness of our observers, the situation there is completely under the control of the Congress," he said in a post in Hindi on X.

"Like several other states, the BJP had started the game of money power, power of government and muscle power in Himachal Pradesh too to destabilize the Congress government elected by the people with absolute majority," he added.

"But they failed because the blessings of the people of Himachal are with the Congress. After this incident our resolve has become stronger. We will continue to serve the people of Himachal Pradesh," the Congress leader said.

In a major embarrassment for the Congress, the BJP on Tuesday won the Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi and apparently setting the stage for a no-trust motion in the assembly.

Amid the crisis, several Congress MLAs met at Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's house on Thursday even as there are demands from a section within the Congress to replace Sukhu as the chief minister.

In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the Congress had 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 legislators. The remaining three seats are held by independents.