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Political parties are campaigning vigorously for the last phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024. Meanwhile, a tough fight is being witnessed between BJP and Congress in the by-elections to be held on six seats in Himachal Pradesh. Because the results of these six by-elections will decide whether there will be a change of power in Himachal Pradesh or the current government will remain in power. Here the fight for the post of Chief Minister has become more important than the Lok Sabha elections.
Voting will be held on 4 Lok Sabha and 6 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh
In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress government led by Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu was in trouble due to the rebellion of Congress MLAs a few months ago. If the current government remains in power, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu will be the Chief Minister, if there is a change of power, BJP leader Jairam Thakur may get a chance to work as the Chief Minister again. But this will be decided only by the by-election results. It is worth noting that voting will be held on June 1 for four Lok Sabha seats and six assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh.
Congress won 40 seats
There are 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. In the assembly elections held in December 2022, Congress won 40 seats while BJP candidates won 25 seats. While three seats went to the account of independent candidates.
Sukhu government was in trouble
To understand why by-elections are being held on 6 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, it is important to know about a major political event that happened in February 2024. In February, when elections were held for the Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, the party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha elections due to the rebellion of six Congress MLAs. BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won this election. This defeat is being considered a big setback for the Congress. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker disqualified six rebel MLAs. Since these seats had become vacant, it became necessary to hold by-elections on these seats. All these MLAs joined the BJP and the BJP declared them as candidates.
By-election will be held on this seat
These rebel Congress MLAs were made candidates by the BJP from the same seats from where they won the 2022 assembly elections. The names of these MLAs are Rajendra Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma and Davinder Bhutto. BJP has given them tickets from Sujanpur, Dharamshala, Barsar, Lahaul-Spiti, Gargaret and Kutlehar assembly seats.
Support of 35 MLAs is necessary
It is very important for the Congress to win the by-elections on these six seats, because to get a majority in the 68-seat assembly, it needs the support of 35 MLAs. After the disqualification of six MLAs, the number of Congress MLAs has come down to 34. However, in such a situation, the number of members of the Legislative Assembly also comes down to 62 and the required majority figure for this is 32.
The central leadership of Congress is also serious
The central leadership of the Congress also knows the importance of the by-elections to be held on six seats in Himachal Pradesh, that is why big leaders like Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party's National General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are continuously campaigning in Himachal Pradesh.
Dealing with the rebellion in Himachal Pradesh is a big challenge for the Congress because at present it has its own government in only three states. These include Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. If the results of the by-election go against the party, then the party will be out of power in the state. Therefore, the central and state leadership of the Congress is taking this by-election very seriously.
It is important for BJP to win these six seats
BJP wants to win six seats at any cost. Himachal Pradesh is also the home state of BJP national president J.P. Nadda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held public meetings in Himachal Pradesh. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also focusing on campaigning in Himachal. Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, state BJP president Rajiv Bindal are also trying their best to unite the party workers and win the elections in all these six assembly seats.
Election campaigning is going on in full swing in Himachal Pradesh
During the election campaign in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is constantly telling the public that, 'BJP wants to destroy our elected government and such culture has never existed in Devbhoomi Himachal. The people of Himachal Pradesh should give a befitting reply to the conspiracy of BJP.' At the same time, BJP is in the election field with the issues of nationalism during the election campaign. BJP leaders are going among the people demanding construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and good economic system of the country.
