6 former Himachal MLAs who were disqualified as Congress legislators join BJP

Three Independent MLAs and six rebel Congress members in Himachal Pradesh joined the BJP today. A controversy erupted after they voted in favour of a BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections last month.

Nearly two months after six MLAs of the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh were disqualified under the anti-defection law, they joined the BJP on Saturday. Deciding a petition moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan in Himachal’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania had disqualified the six MLAs on February 29.

The six MLAs — Rajinder Singh Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Chaitanya Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, and Davinder Bhutto — cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election for BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan, who won by a draw of lots following a 34-vote tie in the 68-member Assembly.

The MLAs were disqualified, however, not for breaking the party whip's directive to be present on the House floor during the voting on cut-off motions on demands and the finance Bill, which does not come under the purview of the anti-defection law, but rather for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election.

Pathania had announced their disqualification as follows: "Therefore, I hold that respondent number 1 to 6 cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh legislative Assembly with immediate effect and that the respondents have incurred disqualification under para 2, clause 1, sub-clause (a) of the 10th schedule (commonly referred to as the anti-defection law)."

The Election Commission of India announced by-elections in the six assembly seats falling vacant after the disqualification of Congress legislators along with four Lok Sabha seats in the last phase on June 1.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhu said the Independent MLAs should not have resigned and should have respected the people's mandate.