Big Blow for Himachal Pradesh Congress: With the 2024 Lok Sabha elections inching closer, the Himachal Pradesh unit of the Congress seems to have received a big setback, with six rebel MLAs joining the BJP on Saturday. Three independent candidates also joined the BJP today.

These were the same rebel MLAs who had voted in favour of Harsh Mahajan, the Rajya Sabha candidate of the BJP, during the Rajya Sabha polls. They were even suspended by the Speaker, and had approached the court but didn’t get any relief.

At 12.30 pm today, these MLAs joined the BJP ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections. Sources also informed that one of them could be elevated to the Lok Sabha level.

The candidates include Chaitanya Sharma, Gagret MLA, Davinder Bhutto, Kutlehar MLA, Vikramaditya Singh, Shimla Rural MLA, Rajinder Rana, Sujanpur MLA, Sudhir Sharma, Dharamshala MLA, and Indradutt Lakhanpal, Barsar MLA.

The independent candidates include Hoshyar Singh, Dehra MLA, KL Thakur, Nalagarh MLA, and Ashish Sharma, Hamirpur MLA.

After joining the BJP, MLA Sudhir Sharma said, “What's the point of being an MLA when we are unable to fulfil the promises made to our people? That is why in the Rajya Sabha elections, we voted for Harsh Mahajan, who is from our state. We didn't hide our vote; we showed it openly. We knew the eventual circumstances. Today, all of us have joined the BJP on our own. When a person's self-respect is hurt and there is no one to listen to you, you shouldn't stay there for long.”

After joining the BJP, MLA Davinder Kumar Bhutto said, “We have left the Congress and joined the BJP so that we could aid in the development of our state under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. We do not want any post, we have joined as party workers. Congress ignores its party workers and elected members. Himachal government will definitely collapse soon.”