LoP Thakur demands Himachal CM's resignation on moral grounds over Congress losing all 4 LS seats

Shimla: The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has lost the people's mandate following its defeat in all four Lok Sabha seats and the chief minister should resign on moral grounds, said leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday.

The voting in favour of the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls is a clear message to the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's government that the "flop director" has succeeded, Thakur said.

Sukhu had during the election campaign commented that Thakur is a flop director and Kangana Ranaut, the BJP candidate from Mandi seat, will lose.

Addressing media persons here, the leader of opposition in the Himachal Assembly said, "The Congress government led by CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has lost the majority in the House (assembly) in the Rajya Sabha elections and now after Lok Sabha elections, it has also lost its popularity and mandate." The BJP leader pointed out that the possibility of a change in government in Himachal still persists as the judgment on the chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) case will come soon. The chief minister and his government will again be in trouble, he said, and reiterated that anything is possible in politics.

Twelve BJP legislators had challenged the appointment of six chief parliamentary secretaries by the state government in the High Court and the judgment in the case is awaited.

Thakur, the former chief minister, said in 2019, during the tenure of the BJP government, the BJP had won all the four seats with the highest ever 69 per cent vote share and lead in all 68 assembly constituencies. However, in 2024, with the Congress in power in Himachal, it could secure a lead in only seven out of 68 assembly seats. The chief minister and majority of his ministers failed to get a lead from their respective assembly segments, he added.

"The Congress government has failed in 15 months. It has lost the mandate of the people and Chief Minister Sukhu should resign on moral grounds," he said.

Sukhu is not bothered about the development of the state, he said, adding that the chief minister's only priority is to save the state government and his chair.

Referring to the defeat of the BJP candidates in four out of six assembly bypolls, Thakur said it will be reviewed.