RS Polls: BJP's Harsh Mahajan Trounces Congress Candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi In Himachal

Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi faced a shock defeat in the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh even though the party has a clear majority with 40 out of the 68 MLAs and the support of three independent MLAs

File Photo of BJP's Harsh Mahajan

Source : PTI

With Inputs By Ankush Dobhal

New Delhi: Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Tuesday faced a shock defeat in the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh against the BJP's Harsh Mahajan. The loss comes even though the Congress has a clear majority with 40 out of the 68 MLAs and the support of three independent MLAs. The BJP, with 25 MLAs, was far behind in the number game, but it forced a contest by fielding Mahajan against Singhvi.

The contest was tied at 34-34 votes, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won through a lottery method, as per inputs.

हर्ष महाजन राज्यसभा चुनाव जीते

• 34-34 मतों मुक़ाबला था बराबर, लॉटरी से जीते बीजेपी प्रत्याशी हर्ष महाजन

• राज्यसभा की सीट के अभिषेक से चूक गए डॉ. सिंघवी#RajyasabhaElection2024 pic.twitter.com/Hkb2IjHZNr

— Ankush Dobhal🇮🇳 (@DobhalAnkush) February 27, 2024

Mahajan, a three-time Congress MLA and former minister, had resigned from the party in September 2022 ahead of the assembly polls and joined the BJP.

Himachal Pradesh LoP Jairam Thakur said, "Despite having such a huge majority, Congress lost the Rajya Sabha seat...I congratulate Harsh Mahajan once again..."

#WATCH | Rajya Sabha elections | Himachal Pradesh LoP Jairam Thakur says, "Despite having such a huge majority, Congress lost the Rajya Sabha seat...I congratulate Harsh Mahajan once again..." pic.twitter.com/wTRzlEiUlK

— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2024

Harsh Mahajan hailed it as, "This is the victory of BJP, of Narendra Modi, of Amit Shah."

#WATCH | Rajya Sabha elections | In Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan says, "This is the victory of BJP, of Narendra Modi, of Amit Shah."

State BJP has claimed that their candidate has won the election. pic.twitter.com/yblPkjUTuD

— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2024

Polling for the single Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh concluded on Tuesday, starting at 9 am and ending with Congress MLA Sudershan Babloo from Chintpurni casting the final vote, news agency PTI reported. He was reportedly unwell, and was airlifted to the Assembly premises via helicopter to vote. All 68 members have voted. Independent MLA Ashish from Hamirpur was the first to cast his vote, marking the commencement of the electoral event. 

Congress Whip To MLAs Directing Them To Vote For Singhvi, BJP's Complaint To ECI

Earlier, the Congress had issued a whip to its MLAs directing them to vote for Abhishek Manu Singhvi, prompting criticism from the BJP. The ruling Congress was accused by the BJP of pressuring its members by issuing the whip, while emphasizing that MLAs, having been democratically elected, should have the freedom to vote as they choose.

The BJP candidate, Harsh Mahajan, lodged a complaint with the chief election commissioner, highlighting the three-line whip issued by the Congress. Mahajan argued that such a directive is not only unethical but also undermines the integrity of Rajya Sabha elections, potentially impairing the decision-making autonomy of the MLAs.

After casting the vote, Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed confidence in his party's stance, affirming that the MLAs had cast their votes in alignment with the party's ideology. "We have 40 MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha and unless MLAs are bought off, we will get all the votes", PTI quoted Sukhu as saying.

Notably, leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur had earlier said that it was the democratic right of the MLAs to vote and it was not necessary that the candidate be elected unopposed, as per PTI.