3 Independent MLAs Supporting Himachal Chief Minister Resign, To Join BJP

Three independent MLAs in Himachal Pradesh, who had voted in favour of the BJP candidate in the recent Rajya Sabha elections, submitted their resignation to the Assembly secretary on Friday. One of them told reporters that they would join the BJP and contest elections on its ticket. The three MLAs - Ashish Sharma (Hamirpur constituency), Hoshiyar Singh (Dehra) and KL Thakur (Nalagarh) -reached Shimla Friday, met the leader of the opposition Jai Ram Thakur and thereafter submitted their resignation. The Independent MLAs said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has stooped to such a level that he is targeting the MLAs and their families and registering false cases against them. The three independent MLAs, along with six Congress rebels, voted in favour of the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections last month. The fate of the 15-month-old Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh now depends on the outcome of the assembly bypolls to the six seats. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), voting for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls will be held simultaneously on June 1.