No independent MLAs in HP assembly, Congress secures absolute majority
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New Delhi: In a historic shift for Himachal Pradesh, the state now has no independent MLAs. The Congress party has fortified its hold by securing 40 seats, having recently won two out of three by-elections.
This election cycle introduces a unique dynamic in the state assembly, with both chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his wife Kamlesh Thakur, who won the Dehra seat, serving as legislators.
During the 2022 assembly elections, three independents—Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur, and K L Thakur from Nalagarh—were elected. However, these MLAs later resigned and joined the BJP after supporting its candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election on February 27. Their resignations were officially accepted by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on June 3, leading to the by-elections on July 10.
While all three former independents ran with BJP tickets in the by-elections, only one emerged victorious. The Congress party claimed the other two seats. Throughout the campaign, chief minister Sukhu highlighted that the resignations of the independent MLAs were unnecessary.