<p>All six of the Congress MLAs who were disqualified by their party have been fielded for the Himachal Pradesh assembly bypolls by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) they recently joined.</p>

<p>On Saturday (March 23), in New Delhi, the disqualified Congress MPs joined the BJP along with three Independents who resigned from their seats.</p>

<p>The disqualified MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto – joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, its national general secretary Arun Singh and state unit president Rajeev Bindal.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/lok-sabha-elections-2024-us-encourages-fair-transparent-process-for-kejriwal-704268">Lok Sabha polls LIVE: BJP mounts pressure to demand Kejriwal's resignation</a></p>

<p>The BJP has fielded Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar.</p>

<p>The bypolls for these six seats will be held on June 1, on the same day four Lok Sabha constituencies of the hill states are going to vote in the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections.</p>

<p>The six MLAs were disqualified on February 29 for defying the Congress party's whip on being&nbsp;present in the House and voting in favour of the state government on&nbsp;a cut motion and budget.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It may be noted here, last month, the Congress government faced a political crisis after the BJP won the Rajya Sabha election for the state’s lone seat due to the support of the nine MLAs.</p>

<p>Following the disqualification of six Congress MLAs, the ruling party's representation in the 62-member assembly diminished from 39 to 33, compared to its initial count of 68. The BJP holds 25 seats. Affiliated with the Congress, the Speaker retains voting authority solely in the event of a tied floor test.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


All six of the Congress MLAs who were disqualified by their party have been fielded for the Himachal Pradesh assembly bypolls by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) they recently joined.

All six of the Congress MLAs who were disqualified by their party have been fielded for the Himachal Pradesh assembly bypolls by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) they recently joined. On Saturday (March 23), in New Delhi, the disqualified Congress MPs joined the BJP along with three Independents who resigned from their seats. The disqualified MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto – joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, its national general secretary Arun Singh and state unit president Rajeev Bindal. Also read: Lok Sabha polls LIVE: BJP mounts pressure to demand Kejriwal's resignation The BJP has fielded Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret and Devinder Kumar Bhutto from Kutlehar. The bypolls for these six seats will be held on June 1, on the same day four Lok Sabha constituencies of the hill states are going to vote in the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The six MLAs were disqualified on February 29 for defying the Congress party's whip on being present in the House and voting in favour of the state government on a cut motion and budget. It may be noted here, last month, the Congress government faced a political crisis after the BJP won the Rajya Sabha election for the state’s lone seat due to the support of the nine MLAs. Following the disqualification of six Congress MLAs, the ruling party's representation in the 62-member assembly diminished from 39 to 33, compared to its initial count of 68. The BJP holds 25 seats. Affiliated with the Congress, the Speaker retains voting authority solely in the event of a tied floor test. (With inputs from agencies)

BJP nominates all six former Congress MLAs for Himachal Pradesh assembly by-polls

<p>Counting of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/gujarat-elections-2017-live-results-27014">votes for the Gujarat</a> and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections began today amid high security.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to early leads just in, BJP is leading in 52 seats with the Congress close behind leading in 35 seats, others(Independents, small parties) are leading in 2 seats.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/2017himachal-pradesh-elections-himachal-poll-live-results-27015">Himachal Pradesh which is currently</a> being led by a Congress government has 68 seats. Presently, the BJP is leading in 2 seats.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GujaratElection2017?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GujaratElection2017</a> Postal ballot counting underway; visuals from a counting center in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vadodara?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Vadodara</a> <a href="https://t.co/O1ZP9JuLSk">pic.twitter.com/O1ZP9JuLSk</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942587889661050880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Counting of postal ballots underway; visuals from a counting center in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Shimla?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Shimla</a>&#39;s Kasumpti <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HimachalPradeshElections?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HimachalPradeshElections</a> <a href="https://t.co/jkFIi3Gtmq">pic.twitter.com/jkFIi3Gtmq</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/942586435198115841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Himachal Pradesh which is currently being led by a Congress government has 68 seats. Presently, the BJP is leading in 2 seats.

Counting of votes for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections began today amid high security. According to early leads just in, BJP is leading in 52 seats with the Congress close behind leading in 35 seats, others(Independents, small parties) are leading in 2 seats. Himachal Pradesh which is currently being led by a Congress government has 68 seats. Presently, the BJP is leading in 2 seats. #GujaratElection2017 Postal ballot counting underway; visuals from a counting center in #Vadodara pic.twitter.com/O1ZP9JuLSk — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 × Counting of postal ballots underway; visuals from a counting center in #Shimla's Kasumpti #HimachalPradeshElections pic.twitter.com/jkFIi3Gtmq — ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2017 ×

Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections: Counting of votes begin, BJP takes early lead in both states

himachal-assembly-elections

Himachal Assembly Elections, News on Himachal Assembly Elections, stories on Himachal Assembly Elections, articles on Himachal Assembly Elections, Himachal Assembly Elections stories at Wion, Himachal Assembly Elections news, Himachal Assembly Elections latest news

himachal assembly-elections

BJP nominates all six former Congress MLAs for Himachal Pradesh assembly by-polls

Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections: Counting of votes begin, BJP takes early lead in both states