In the midst of a political upheaval in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed confidence on Friday that his government would successfully complete its full term of 5 years. Sukhu accused Jairam Thakur of attempting 'Operation Lotus' since assuming power in the state, insinuating efforts to destabilize the government. Sukhu said, 'Our government will run for 5 years... Since the day I became CM of the state, Jairam Thakur has been busy doing 'Operation Lotus.' Nobody should be as hungry for power as they are. People have elected our government, and we will be in power for 5 years.'
“One of the rebel Congress MLAs contacted me and shared his views; he is regretting the step he took. There’s a saying that people who betray their party are similar to ‘snake’, but if they are repent on their act, there’s no harm in forgiving them,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
Earlier in the day, Sukhu stated that he would welcome any rebel Congress MLA wishing to return to the party fold without resorting to coercive measures. 'When he has made up his mind, he may come, and we will welcome him. It is not in Himachal's culture to force someone. Hooliganism is not in Himachal's culture,' he remarked.
“Jairam Thakur should first prove his majority in the assembly. They (BJP) don’t have a majority and he (Jairam) is talking about ‘Operation Lotus’, how is it possible. BJP must understand that carrying out such operations is not good for democracy. We have people’s mandate, and they should not try to tempt our leaders,” he said.
The six MLAs who faced disqualification for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls are Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal. This cross-voting resulted in a surprise victory for BJP's candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Vikramaditya Singh, who rescinded his resignation as a minister in the state on Wednesday, continues to keep the Congress leadership in suspense. After the 2022 Assembly elections, Congress held 40 seats, while BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats were held by independents. With the disqualification of the six rebel MLAs, the house's strength decreased from 68 to 62, with the halfway mark set at 32. The Congress, with 34 MLAs, and the BJP, along with independents, with 28, will determine the political landscape in the state, with the Congress's future dependent on its ability to maintain unity among its remaining members.