Meet BJP's Harsh Mahajan, Whose Himachal Stunner Led To A Congress Crisis

In a major setback for the Congress party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Harsh Mahajan has defeated rival candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi to bag the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh.

During the Rajya Sabha polls on Tuesday, both Mr Mahajan and Mr Singhvi secured 34 votes each, however, the Election Commission later declared the BJP candidate as the winner through a draw of lots.

Mr Mahajan has predicted that the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is not going to last for long as "BJP is going to form its government in the state" soon.

Who is Harsh Mahajan?

• Born in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba, Mr Mahajan is the former Animal Husbandry minister of the state. He is the son of ex-Himachal Assembly Speaker and former Cabinet Minister Des Raj Mahajan.
• He held the post of President of the State Youth Congress between 1986 and 1995.
• In 1993, he was elected as an MLA for the first time from Chamba seat on a Congress ticket. He had defeated BJP's Kishori Lal. 
• Mr Mahajan was again elected to the state Assembly in 1998 and 2003 polls while representing Congress.
• However, Mr Mahajan parted ways from Congress in September 2022 and went on to join the BJP ahead of the 2022 Himachal Pradesh elections.

"BJP is the game-changer. People are upset with the Sukhu government. All good leaders are joining the BJP. It is a future party...There has been cross-voting. On today's date, Congress has lost its majority in the state. This government is not going to last for long," Mr Mahajan told ANI.

"BJP is going to form its government in the state. Some more MLAs of Congress are in touch with us. I got phone calls from some of their MLAs and ministers...The situation is going to change in the next few hours and you will see BJP will form its government soon... For the next 10-20 years, Congress is not going to come to power here," he added.