Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, appointed as an observer for the ongoing political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, asserted on Thursday that the government will complete its full five-year tenure. Following a meeting with Himachal Pradesh Congress leaders Vikramaditya Singh and Pratibha Singh in Shimla, Shivakumar confidently stated, "All is well. This government will stay for 5 years. All issues have been sorted out. We are hearing all the MLAs. There is no problem in the government."
When asked if CM Sukhu will remain CM for 5 years, Congress observer DK Shivakumar says, "Congress government is there and Sukhu is the CM. All the MLAs want Congress government for 5 years...No operation Lotus here."
As the Congress observers, including senior leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DK Shivakumar, submitted their preliminary report to the Congress high command, a recommendation emerged to maintain Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu as the Chief Minister until the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier today, Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania made a significant decision by disqualifying six Congress MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls. Speaker Pathania declared, "Six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves. I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect."The disqualified MLAs include Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal.
After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress held 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents. With the six rebel MLAs disqualified, the strength of the house has decreased to 62, with the halfway mark now standing at 32.