11 Himachal MLAs Including 6 Congress Rebels In Uttarakhand Amid Political Turmoil

Two BJP MLAs Rakesh Jamwal, who is also the party’s Himachal Pradesh general secretary, and Jaswan legislator Bikram Singh have accompanied the nine legislators who arrived in Dehradun from Chandigarh by a chartered flight on Friday afternoon and checked into a resort in Singtali, around 35 km from Rishikesh, amid tight security. A security vehicle with Haryana registration number was stationed outside the resort on Saturday, the people added.

“Eleven MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who flew from Chandigarh to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun in a chartered plane are staying at a resort near Rishikesh. The legislators included six Congress MLAs, three independents and two BJP MLAs,” a BJP functionary said, requesting anonymity.

Congress legislators Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhuttu, Ravindra Thakur and Chaitanya Sharma had voted against party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the February 27 Rajya Sabha election, resulting in the victory of BJP’s Harsh Mahajan. They were disqualified from the assembly on February 29 for defying the party whip on the state budget.