Amidst an ongoing rebellion against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, six Himachal Pradesh Congress MLAs who voted against party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha elections have relocated to a hotel in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. They are accompanied by three Independent lawmakers and two BJP MLAs from Himachal Pradesh.
The Congress MLAs involved include Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhuttu, Ravindra Thakur, and Chaitanya Sharma. They have been disqualified for defying the party whip on the state budget and have approached the Supreme Court for relief.
The Independent MLAs present are Hoshiar Singh, KL Thakur, and Ashish Sharma. The Congress currently holds 34 seats in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, while the BJP has 25. The three Independent MLAs had previously sided with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls.
Security around the hotel has been heightened, and only those with advance online bookings are permitted entry. The hotel is situated approximately 30 kilometers from Rishikesh along the Rishikesh-Badrinath Road.
The Congress has initiated efforts to resolve the internal conflict in Himachal Pradesh and is engaging in discussions with senior state ministers. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region BL Verma has predicted the imminent collapse of the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh due to internal strife.