The Leader of the Opposition and other BJP MLAs this morning met the Himachal Pradesh Governor, seeking a test of strength for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government in the state Assembly.

This comes a day after the BJP managed to pull off a victory for its candidate in the lone Rajya Sabha seat. The BJP’s win was the result of cross-voting by Congress MLAs and a draw of lots that went in its favour.

“We have pulled off a victory when our chances seemed very low. BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won the Rajya Sabha elections. Currently, the Congress government has lost the moral right to stay in power,” Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur said after meeting the Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla.

Jairam Thakur alleged that the marshals misbehaved and manhandled BJP members when they wanted to speak to Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania after he did not allow division of votes in cut motions pertaining to the health department. “We have apprised the Governor about it,” he said.

The meeting comes amid a buzz that the BJP will move a no-confidence motion in the Assembly today as the Budget Session begins.

Mr Thakur – who was also the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister until 2022, when the BJP lost to the Congress – yesterday demanded a division of votes for passing the state Budget instead of a voice vote.

If allowed, the division of votes would establish the actual support of each party. Should the Congress government fail to get the Budget passed, it would automatically prove that it lacks a majority in the House.

The Congress has 40 MLAs in the Assembly and its candidate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, was expected to win comfortably. During the voting for the only Rajya Sabha seat for which elections were held on Tuesday, six Congress MLAs and three Independents supporting the government reportedly cast their ballots for Harsh Mahajan.

The BJP has 25 members in the 68-member Assembly. 

Mr Mahajan, after the results, said that the Congress government does not have a majority. “The state government is in the minority right now. Fence-sitters in the government are ready to come to this side. They are unhappy with the government. They are so upset that they can do anything. This government won’t go on, it will topple under its own weight,” he told news agency ANI.

Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the US, is the leading choice to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic party’s candidate for the presidential elections, a poll has shown. 

Nearly half of the democrats – who voted in the Rasmussen Reports polls – expressed their choice for someone other than Biden to fight the US Presidential elections.

About 48% of the Democrats polled said they approve of the party “finding another candidate to replace Joe Biden before the election in November,” compared to 38% who disapprove.

Only 33 per cent of Democrats believe there will be a ballot shakeup.

Michelle Obama got about 20 per cent of votes among other options to replace 81-year-old Joe Biden. The other contenders were Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Kamala Harris received about 15 per cent of the votes, while 12 per cent favoured a rematch between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Michelle Obama has repeatedly being called to consider running for the presidential election.

Obama last month expressed deep fear about the upcoming elections, saying it “haunts” her. “The fact that people think that government-‘eh,, does it really even do anything?’ – and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.’ And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up,” she had said.

The lineup in the 2024 US election has long been a foregone conclusion, with a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump appearing all but certain.

Biden asserts that he is the best qualified candidate, despite polls that indicate that his age is off-putting to voters.

Trump, meanwhile, insists he will run despite possible criminal conviction before the election which theoretically could see him face decades in prison.

The election to one Rajya Sabha seat has upset the power equations in Himachal Pradesh. The Congress, which had a comfortable majority of 40 in a 68-member Assembly, is now firefighting to save its government. The party has rushed senior leaders Bhupender Hooda and DK Shivakumar to the hill state for damage control. The BJP, a fast mover in these situations, has already met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla amid buzz that it may bring a no-confidence motion against the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government. Here’s a look at how BJP pulled off a stunner and altered turned the tables

How Were Numbers Stacked Up

The 68-member House has 40 MLAs from Congress, 25 from BJP and three Independents. The Congress chose senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi as its candidate. The BJP, despite being at a numerical disadvantage, forced a contest by fielding veteran politician Harsh Mahajan, earlier with the Congress.

The Premonition

Ahead of the voting, Chief Minister Sukhu said that the Congress has 40 MLAs and will get all votes “if no one gets sold”. The rider underlined the Congress’s fears that the BJP has a plan. State minister Harshwardhan Chauhan was more articulate. “The BJP has only 25 MLAs. Even without numbers, BJP is fielding their candidate. This means they’re planning horse-trading,” he said. The Congress also issued a whip for its MLAs to prevent cross-voting, a move the BJP called “unethical”.

A Shock Result

At the end of the counting, both Mr Singvi and Mr Mahajan were tied at 34 votes each – meaning six Congress MLAs and three Independents voted in favour of the BJP candidate. What followed was a tie-breaker by a draw of lots, and the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan got an Upper House ticket despite all odds. According to a former Chief Election Commissioner, the draw of lots in a Rajya Sabha election tie-breaker is an elimination pick, meaning that the person whose name is on the slip gets eliminated and the other wins.

The Reactions

Shortly after his shocking defeat, Mr Singvi said the election had “taught me a lesson, how people can change their principles and ideologies overnight”.

“The nine MLAs who cross-voted had dinner with us on Monday night. Three of them also had breakfast with us in the morning. But they voted against me,” he said.

“Normally, in a draw of lots, the name that is taken out is that of the winner, but under the strange rule of the Election Commission, which I came to know about only on Tuesday, the name of the candidate taken out, which was mine, lost,” the Congress leader said.

Winner Harsh Majahan said the victory belongs to BJP. “Cross-voting was done because MLAs were verbal about being unhappy with the government,” he told news agency ANI.

The Aftermath

Within 24 hours, the fight for a Rajya Sabha seat has turned into a battle of survival for the Sukhu government. The BJP claims that the state government has lost the confidence of the House. The six rebel MLAs were taken away by Haryana police, Mr Sukhu said last night. The MLAs have been reportedly lodged at a resort in Panchkula and have met Himachal BJP chief Rajeev Bindal. 

“From the recent political point of view of the developments that have taken place in Himachal Pradesh, it can be said that the state government has lost the moral right to stay in power,” Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur has said.

“We have informed the Governor about what happened in the Assembly recently. We informed him about the behaviour of the Speaker towards the Opposition MLAs,” he said.

On being asked about how many Congress legislators are in contact with the BJP, he said, “I cannot tell you this now. I just want to say that Congress has lost mandate.”