Congress has no right to stay in power: Himachal BJP state president Rajeev Bindal

"Our experts analyse the situation and after looking at their judgements, we will take a decision. It is too early to say anything. Congress was totally exposed in the Rajya Sabha elections...Congress has lost its opportunity," Rajeev Bindal said, adding, "Morally, they have no right to stay in power."

Earlier today, Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls.

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said, "Six MLAs, who contested on the Congress symbol, attracted provisions of the anti-defection law against themselves...I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect."

The six MLAs who have been disqualified are Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal.

In a stunning upset for the Congress, on Tuesday, the ruling Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha election to the BJP's Harsh Mahajan despite the Congress enjoying a comfortable majority in the state assembly.

Both candidates secured 34 votes each in the 68-member state assembly.Victory tilted towards Mahajan after a draw of lots was held as a tie-breaker.

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.

The BJP has claimed the Congress has lost the moral standing to be in power after losing majority in the Assembly. (ANI)