Himachal Pradesh Elections: Congress To Shift MLAs Out Of Himachal To Prevent Poaching

The Congress has decided to assign a micro-observer to each elected MLA, who will escort the MLA to the secret destination decided by the party, most likely in Rajasthan or Chhattisgarh.

Ashwani Sharma

Updated on: 7 December 2022 3:07 pm

The Congress is set to move MLAs out of Himachal Pradesh to prevent poaching (Representative photo)

Ahead of the Himachal Pradesh assembly election results on Thursday, the Congress has finalised its strategy to shift all elected MLAs out of state.

Himachal went to polls on November 12. Counting of votes is set to take place on Thursday.

Chief Minister Jairam Thakur-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to change Himachal’s trend of changing the party in power every five years, whereas the Congress is hoping to repeat the trend and return to power.

One MLA, one micro-observer: Congress plan

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress election in-charge for Himachal Bhupesh Baghel has put his teams on high alert and has appointed micro-observers for every constituency.

The elected Congress MLAs have been told to not take out victory processions or waste their time at the counting centres. They are supposed to collect their victory certificates and report to the party for further instructions.

Every micro-observer will escort the elected MLA to an unknown destination outside Himachal Pradesh — most likely Rajasthan or Chhattisgarh where Congress is in power.

“All MLAs will be lodged at one place and will not be supposed to move out of that place. They will be guarded well. This arrangement will be irrespective of their numbers — whether we get 40-plus or close to the majority,” said a Congress insider to Outlook.

Congress fears BJP poaching its MLAs

The Congress is hoping to return to power in Himachal with a comfortable majority but has strong fears of BJP trying to poach its MLAs or cause a split in the party to get support in forming the government if it falls short of the required numbers.

An indication about shifting the MLAs outside Himachal was given by Vikramaditya Singh, a sitting MLA and son of former Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, on Tuesday. Though he exuded the confidence that the Congress will form the next government.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajiv Shukla has also activated his team of in-charges to execute the operation of escorting elected MLAs to the chosen destinations.

Shukla will camp in Chandigarh while Baghel will reach Shimla to work on government-formation once all the elected MLAs are moved to the secret location.

Not the first time MLAs will be moved in Himachal

This will be the second time in Himachal when the MLAs will be moved out to avoid poaching by the ruling party.

Earlier in 1998, the BJP shifted its MLAs to Haryana.

In 1998, Virbhadra Singh of Congress formed the government despite being short of the required numbers. One Independent MLA —BJP rebel Ramesh Dhawala— was won over by Virbhadra’s Congress party and was also inducted as Cabinet minister.

BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal, who was the party's chief ministerial face, had to take all the MLAs to Haryana. He returned only on the day when Virbhadra Singh had to prove his majority in the assembly.

A five-member group led by Pt Sukh Ram, who had formed Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), agreed to split three of their MLAs for merger with the BJP. It was a strategy to avoid poaching by the Congress.

BJP also finalises its plans

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP in Himachal also gave final touches to its plans for counting of votes on Thursday at a top-level party meeting in Shimla.

CM Thakur and Himachal BJP President Suresh Kashyap — a sitting MP, and state BJP organising secretary Pawan Rana, apart from state party in-charge and election in-charge, also shared their inputs on party prospects.

“The Congress is in utter over-confidence. They should wait for December 8. There will be many surprises for the party which looks in too much hurry to form the government as already at least 10 chief ministerial aspirants have made their wishes clear to the party,” said Thakur to Outlook.

The Himachal witnessed a heavy turn-out during the polling on November 12. The women voters out-numbered the men. They polled 4.5 per cent higher than men.

Thakur said, “We are hopeful about a large number of women voting for the BJP after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal and his emotional bond with the people, particularly the womenfolk. In fact, women are the real beneficiaries of most welfare schemes launched by the Centre and state government.”