While voting is being held on June 1 for the Lok Sabha elections on four seats in Himachal Pradesh, on the other hand, by-elections are also being held on six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. This by-election will decide the future of CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu’s government in Himachal. The credibility of the Sukhu government is at stake in this election.
By-elections are going on in Himachal in Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Lahaul-Spiti, Barsar, Gagret and Kutlehar. Rebel leaders Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Devinder Kumar Bhutto, Chaitanya Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal and Ravi Thakur have entered the fray on BJP tickets. Due to which it will now have to be seen whether Sukhu government will succeed on these seats or the government will suffer a huge blow and this will be a big opportunity for BJP to regain power.
Rebel leaders had joined BJP
During the budget session of Himachal Pradesh, 6 rebels were disqualified by the Congress on the charges of violating the party whip. After which six assembly seats became vacant. These MLAs voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha elections on 29 February and later all the MLAs joined the BJP party. After which now all these MLAs have contested the by-elections in their areas on BJP tickets.
By-election will decide Sukhu’s future
There is a lot at stake for CM Sukhu in this election. The results of the by-elections on these 6 seats can have a huge impact on CM Sukhu’s political future. For the BJP, which suffered defeat in the 2022 assembly elections, this is an opportunity to regain lost ground. Out of the total 68 assembly seats in 2022, Congress had won 40 seats, BJP 25 and others 3 seats. However, in the years 2014 and 2019, BJP won all the Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh.