Our Government Will Run For 5 Years: Himachal Chief Minister Amid Congress Crisis

Amid the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu exuded confidence on Friday that his government will run for 5 years.

Mr Sukhu also accused Jairam Thakur of trying to conduct 'Operation Lotus' since he came to power in the state.

"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," he said.

Earlier in the day, Mr Sukhu said that he would welcome the rebel Congress MLA who wants to come back to the Congress' fold but they will not take any 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 said.

The six MLAs who have been disqualified after they cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls are Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal.

The cross-voting led to a surprise win by the BJP's candidate, Harsh Mahajan, in the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Vikramaditya Singh, who on Wednesday took back his resignation as a minister in the state, continues to keep the Congress top brass guessing.

After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 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 comes down from 68 to 62, and the halfway mark is 32. With the loss of 6 MLAs the Congress now has 34 MLAs and the BJP, with independents, has 28. The fortunes of the Congress will now rest on its ability to keep the rest of its flock together.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)