BJP Wants to 'Crush' People's Mandate in Himachal, Push State Towards 'Political Disaster': Priyanka

Amid a political crisis in the Congress-led Himachal Pradesh government, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday alleged that the BJP wants to “crush” people’s mandate by misusing money power and central agencies.

She also alleged that the BJP wants to push the state towards a “political disaster”.

In a democracy, the general public has the right to choose a government of their choice, said Priyanka Gandhi, who had played a crucial role in the Himachal Assembly poll campaign in 2022 and has been involved with the party’s affairs in the state.

“The people of Himachal used this right and formed the Congress government with a clear majority. But the BJP wants to crush this right of the people of Himachal by misusing the money power, power of agencies and the power of the Centre,” Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

She said the way the BJP is using government’s security and other machinery for this purpose is unprecedented in the history of the country. If a party with 25 MLAs is challenging the majority of 43 MLAs, then it clearly means that it is dependent on horse-trading of representatives, Priyanka Gandhi said.

“This attitude of theirs (the BJP) is unethical and unconstitutional. The people of Himachal and the country are watching everything. The BJP, which did not stand with the people of the state during the natural disaster, now wants to push the state towards political disaster,” she said. The Congress on Wednesday said the BJP cannot take away the mandate of the people of Himachal Pradesh through its ‘Operation Lotus’ and it will not hesitate to take tough steps in the party’s interest.

Addressing reporters here on Wednesday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said party president Mallikarjun Kharge has despatched three observers — Bhupesh Baghel, Bhupinder Singh Hooda. and D K Shivakumar — to Shimla.

The crisis was triggered when in a stunning upset, the BJP won the state’s lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Singhvi. The contest tied with both the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against the party. The result was then declared based on a draw of lots, officials said.

In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly, the Congress has 40 MLAs while the BJP has 25 legislators. The remaining three seats are held by independents.