Three Congress leaders in line to replace Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhu: BJP's Jai Ram Thakur

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh, a sitting MP from Mandi, has said that party workers are demoralised, the BJP leader added.About the BJPs Mandi Lok Sabha seat candidate Kangana Ranauts comment that she has not eaten beef, Thakur said that when she has said that, the matter ends there.

Three Congress leaders are in line to replace Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu after the Lok Sabha elections, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur claimed on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters in Solan, he said the defeat of the Congress candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls despite having a majority in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly indicates people do not have faith in the chief minister's leadership and change in government is on the cards.

The leadership of the ruling party in Himachal Pradesh, who visited the state after the Rajya Sabha polls, have remarked that the chief minister was unsuccessful in managing things in the state and there should be deliberations on a new name, the senior BJP leader claimed.

However, since the Lok Sabha elections were close, the Congress leaders have been told to wait, he said, adding the party's leaders are hopeful that Sukhu would be removed and they will get a chance.

In a stunning upset for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP won the state's lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Nine MLAs -- six Congress rebels and three Independents -- voted in favour of the BJP nominee. The Congress rebels were disqualified by the Speaker for defying a whip to be present in the assembly and vote in favour of the government during the cut motions and budget. All the nine legislators later joined BJP and the Congress rebels were fielded by the saffron party from their respective constituencies for the bypolls.

Thakur, a former chief minister, claimed that Sukhu was responsible for the current situation in the state and that he should stop blaming the BJP. Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh, a sitting MP from Mandi, has said that party workers are demoralised, the BJP leader added.

About the BJP's Mandi Lok Sabha seat candidate Kangana Ranaut's comment that she has not eaten beef, Thakur said that when she has said that, the matter ends there. ''Has anyone seen Kangana eat beef? We will file a complaint with the Election Commission if this issue is raised again and again,'' he said.

Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Rajiv Bindal said the Congress' sole target is to dislodge Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power. On the other hand, PM Modi's only focus is on the development of the country, he said.

Bindal and Thakur exuded confidence that the party would be victorious in all four Lok Sabha seats in the state and help it achieve the target of winning 400 parliamentary seats in the general elections.

Earlier, addressing a meeting organised by the BJP Shimla parliamentary constituency election management committee in Solan, the leaders encouraged the party workers to work hard in the polls.

The party's Himachal Pradesh unit spokesperson Vivek Sharma said the workers would ensure a huge victory for BJP candidates by helping them secure 370 votes more in each booth than the tally of the 2019 polls.

BJP candidate for Shimla Suresh Kashyap also addressed the meeting and gave an account of the work done by him in the constituency in the last five years.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)