BJP chief Nadda resigns as Rajya Sabha MP from Himachal

BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda resigned as Rajya Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh on Monday after he was elected to the upper house from Gujarat unopposed last month. He was among 57 Rajya Sabha members whose tenure was ending in April.

“Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, an elected member of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), representing the State of Himachal Pradesh, resigned his seat in the Rajya Sabha and his resignation has been accepted by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha w.e.f 4th March, 2024,” a Rajya Sabha parliamentary bulletin read.

Nadda was among the 41 candidates who won seats unopposed in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections ahead of the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He was nominated as the party’s candidate from Gujarat, which sent four BJP candidates to the upper house, instead of Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh where the party’s victory was uncertain.

The BJP, however, was able to clinch the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal after six Congress MLAs cross-voted in its favour, leading to a tie and then eventual victory for the saffron party by a dramatic lottery.

Congress candidate Abhishek Singhvi received 34 votes after six Congress lawmakers and three independents previously backing the government supported BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan, who also received 34 votes. The tie was then resolved by a draw-of-lots, which favoured Mahajan.

The Congress went into a damage control mode as the rebellion threatened to topple the Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu government in the state. The grand old party had to rush senior leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DK Shivakumar as observers, who recommended Sukhu remain CM till the general elections to the Lower House.

Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania announced last Thursday that the six MLAs – Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal – had been disqualified.