Himachal: Congress has only itself to blame

The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is still struggling, though it may not be on the ventilator now. The party has only temporarily recovered from the blow that it received in the Rajya Sabha election when six of its MLAs voted for the BJP candidate. The party has since then used emergency measures like the suspension of 15 BJP MLAs, to ensure the passage of the budget in the Assembly, and disqualification of the cross-voting Congress MLAs, who disobeyed the party whip on the budget vote, to stay afloat. Both measures are controversial. The Congress took a page out of the BJP’s playbook in suspending Opposition MLAs. The measure is wrong and lacks propriety, and decisions taken by the legislature after clearing it of the Opposition lack legitimacy. The disqualified MLAs have challenged the Speaker’s order in court on procedural grounds. While the court is to take a decision on it, the disqualifications reduce the Congress numbers to 34 in a House of 68 with an effective strength of 62.

The Congress has itself to blame for finding itself in this situation in Himachal Pradesh. It failed to read the straws in the wind, in the party and in the government, in time. The party is faction-ridden, as in all other states. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh has not yet settled down in the job after many months and there is unhappiness about his style of working. The reasons may be right or wrong, personal or political, factional or fictional. The party did not try to address the problem till it exploded in its face. Minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and state party president Pratibha Singh, resigned during the crisis but was later prevailed upon to withdraw the resignation. The decision to field Abhishek Manu Singhvi from the state had caused unhappiness as it denied an opportunity for a leader from the state to represent it in the Rajya Sabha. Though there is no legal bar on outsiders being elected to the Rajya Sabha, it is a politically contentious practice. Both the BJP and the Congress do this. The unhappiness in the BJP does not get expressed because its leadership has better control over the party.  

The Sukhu government is in a precarious position with the revolt of the six legislators and the loss of support of three Independents. The numbers game can get too close for comfort. What message does it send if the party cannot protect the few governments it has in the country? The developments in Himachal Pradesh and in UP can also be a psychological blow to the I.N.D.I.A. grouping, which is trying to come back from its near-dead state.