Himachal Govt Totters Coz Of Rajya Sabha Cross-Voting, Chief Minister Sukhu Still Confident Of Numbers

When all eyes were fixed on Rajya Sabha polling in Karnataka and UP, it was the polling for a single Rajya Sabha seat in the hill state of Himachal that was threatening the survival of the Congress Government of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu . It is because a high profile candidate like senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi entered the fray and got trounced. Party sources said defeat of the official candidate could cost CM Sukhu his chair but Sukhu dismissed such suggestions saying he must be voted out in the state assembly. At least 9 MLAs — 6 Congress MLAs and 3 independents — backing the 43-member Sukhu Government had cross-voted for the BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan. Himachal has a 68-member state assembly.  The cross-voters were reportedly whisked away in a CRPF vehicle to Panchkula in Haryana. Now the Congress managers are more keen to save their government in the hill state than worried about Singhvi losing. They got a super boss like former Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel to reach Shimla.  Party sources say Congress leaders are apparently prepared to sacrifice CM Sukhu and get a new CM face and appeal to those party MLAs who cross-voted to return back to Congress-fold. Sukhu himself made it clear that he is no push over and challenged his rivals to defeat him on the floor of the assembly.  In Karnataka, a determined Deputy CM DK Shivkumar ensured a snub for his JD(S) rival HD Kumaraswamy by ensuring election of all the 3 official candidates, defeat of the JD(S) candidate and cross-voting by two BJP MLAs.