Congress Leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi Loses Rajya Sabha Election From Himachal Pradesh, BJP's Harsh Mahajan Wins After Draw Of Lots

Shimla, February 27: In a major setback for the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost Rajya Sabha election amid reports of cross-voting. Though BJP did not have enough MLAs to secure the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh, its candidate Harsh Mahajan has been elected after a coin toss. Polling for the Rajya Sabha election was held on Tuesday, February 27.

The Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly has 68 members. A candidate needed votes of 35 MLAs to get elected to the Rajya Sabha. The Congress has 40 MLAs and BJP 25. The Congress also claims the support of three independent MLAs. The Congress had issued a whip to its legislature asking them to vote for Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Despite the Congress issuing a whip, six of its legislators reportedly cross-voted. According to reports, Congress MLAs Rajendra Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, Indra Dutt Lakhanpal and Devendra Bhutto cross-voted. Independent legislators Ashish Sharma, KL Thakur and Hoshiar Singh also reportedly voted for BJP's Harsh Mahajan.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi Congratulates Harsh Mahajan:

Both Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Harsh Mahajan received 34 votes each. Later, Mahajan was declared winner through a lottery toss of coin. After losing the election, Singhvi congratulated Mahajan. He also added: "I would like to tell his party - introspect and think. When a 25-member party fields a candidate against a 43-member party, there is just one message -- we will shamelessly do that which is not permitted by the law."