A Political Standstill in Himachal Pradesh: The Unresolved Resignations of Three MLAs

Three Independent MLAs Protest Over Resignation Non-Acceptance in Himachal Pradesh

In a recent turn of events in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, three Independent Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) have taken to a sit-in protest against the non-acceptance of their resignations by the Speaker of the State Assembly. The trio, comprising Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur, Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra, and K.L. Thakur from Nalagarh, who have recently affiliated themselves with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), expressed their dissent on Saturday.

Staging their demonstration outside the State Assembly premises, these legislators voiced their grievance against Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania decision to withhold acceptance of their voluntary resignations. The MLAs criticized the Speaker action of issuing notices to them seeking clarification on their resignations as unfounded.

This protest unfolds in the wake of the MLAs pivotal support to a BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls, followed by their formal resignation on March 22 and subsequent induction into the BJP on the following day.

The controversy has further intensified with the disqualification of six former Congress MLAs who similarly extended their support to the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha election held on February 27.
These MLAs, namely Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Davinder Bhutto, faced disqualification for contravening the party whip, leading to the declaration of by-elections in their respective constituencies - Dharamshala, Sujanpur, Lahaul-Spiti, Barsar, Gagret, and Kutlehar. The Election Commission has slated these byelections for June 1, coinciding with the voting for Himachal Pradesh four Lok Sabha seats in the impending parliamentary elections.

Amidst these developments, the future political representation for the constituencies of Hamirpur, Nalagarh, and Dehra remains in limbo, pending the acceptance of the resignations of the three Independent MLAs. This scenario has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the potential inclusion of these constituencies in the upcoming byelections.