Shimla: The Congress party, which on Thursday crossed the halfway mark in Himachal Pradesh with a huge lead over the BJP, has decided to shift all its newly-elected party MLAs to Jaipur fearing attempts at “poaching” by the ruling party. According to Congress sources, the main opposition party has already deployed Rajeev Shukla and other central leaders to ensure the security of the newly elected MLAs of the party. According to early trends, the Congress party is leading in 38 seats after the initial rounds of counting in the hill state. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also reached her farmhouse near Shimla where she is expected to meet state party leaders to discuss the current political situation.
It crossed the halfway mark and was leading on 38 seats at around 11.45 am. The ruling BJP is leading in 27 seats, while independents are leading in three seats.
Independents, all BJP rebels, are Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, Hiteshwar Singh from Banjar in Kullu and Ashish in Hamirpur Sadar, once the stronghold of two-time Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.
As Himachal Pradesh has not returned any incumbent government to power in nearly four decades, early trends in the ballot count have indicated the Congress leading in the 68-member assembly.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, 57, wins from his stronghold of Siraj in Mandi district. Prominent Congress leaders Mukesh Agnihotri (60) and Sukhwinder Sukhu (58) are leading from Haroli and Nadaun seats respectively. As most exit poll surveys have predicted a tough fight between the incumbent BJP and the opposition Congress.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which made its debut in the assembly elections, has disappeared from the state in Gujarat with a focus on consolidating its vote bank.
Sensing a neck and neck fight between the BJP and the Congress, the rebels who have broken ties with the mainstream parties have started ‘indoor’ talks in the belief that there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress have also started the exercise of putting their numbers in order in the event of a hung House. Insiders claim that leaders of both the parties were trying to mend their differences with the party’s rebels, who number around 20, to improve the party’s prospects. The possibility of exodus of MPs from Congress was high.