SHIMLA: Six rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified from the Vidhan Sabha today by the Speaker here. It has raised a fresh storm in the Congress as most of the disqualified members  belonged the "Virbhadra Singh Camp ", read Congress president Pratibha Singh, Pradesh Congress committee President. 

The disqualification followed the high drama after BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won the Rajya Sabha seat, defeating Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi that created a history in state.

Speaker later in the evening issued notification on disqualification of six MLAs stating that MLAs cease to be the members of assembly and these six assembly constituencies have fallen vacant clearing the stage for byelection.

As per law the disqualified MLAs will not be able to recontest for byelection in this term of Vidhan Sabha, say the analysts.

A high-level Congress damage control team is camping in  Shimla to handle the situation.

Efforts are being made to placate Vikramaditya Singh, who has expressed grievances after giving resignation, but has not pressed for it.

Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Kuldeep Singh Pathania delivered a verdict on the petition submitted to him  by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan invoking the Anti-defection Law.

Speaker disqualified  six Congress rebel MLAs, sparking  a fresh political upheaval within the Congress as :four are from the Virbhadra Singh". 

Pradesh Congress President Pratibha Singh, also a Mandi Lok Sabha MP,  has yet to react to the action of the state government and the Congress high command as the Sukhu government seemed to have survived but the Congress party is a big  loser.    

The disqualified MLAs include Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret, Inderdutt Lakhanpal from Badsar, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, Ravi Thakur from Lahaul Spiti and Devinder Bhuttu from Kutlehar,  Una.

Inderdutt Lakhanpal has emerged from the ranks of Congress Sevadal, a revered grass root frontal organisation of the Congress that is upsetting for the ranks and file of Sevadal.

Sudhir Sharma hails from one of the oldest Congress family of Pt Sant Ram from Kangra, a politically  significant  district. He was urban development Minister in the Virbhadra Government and was rated high for his performance.

Ravi Thakur, is the son of Late Lata Thakur, a charistmatic leader,  one of the oldest Congress family of Lahaul-Spiti who  enjoyed  deep ties with the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Lata Thakur had died young.

Rajinder Rana, came from the ranks of the BJP, who has defeated the two- time Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal that has created a history for the Congress in Hamirpur district, a strong bastion of the Dhumals and his Son Anurag Singh Thakur, Union IB Minister. 

Incidentally  four ill-fated MLAs are Hamirpur lok Sabha constituency, represented by Anurag Singh Thakur.  It appears Congress has given a big relief to BJP. 

Lakhanpal and Rana were the major Congress figures in Hamirpur politics, both enjoyed support of the Late Virbhadra Singh. Incidentally Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also comes from the same district. 

Chaitanya Sharma, son of the retired Chief Secretary, a  talented young leader, who is the youngest MLA in the Vidhan sabha, who carries and signifies the dreams of the younger generation.

All the six are relatively younger generation of the Congress leaders. 

 With their unceremonious exit  Congress has lost much more than what the party has  assessed or not assessed so far, observed the analysts.  

The decision comes hot on the heels of  internal strife within the Congress party, particularly concerning the "dictatorial    leadership style of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu".

Notably, two of the disqualified MLAs, Lakhanpal and Rana, hail from the Chief Minister's home district, making their rebellion particularly challenging for Sukhu's style of functioning.

The Speaker cited the MLAs' absence during critical legislative proceedings, including the passage of the budget and a cut motion.

Speaker claimed despite warnings and reminders, the rebel MLAs failed to attend these sessions, leading to their disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law. This position is contested by the MLAs.

Addressing the media, the Speaker emphasized the impartiality of the decision, stating that it was based on thorough examination and legal precedents.

He clarified that the door to legal recourse remains open for the disqualified MLAs, who can appeal the decision in either the High Court or Supreme Court.

The disqualification raises questions about potential by-elections in Himachal Pradesh and the future political landscape within the state.

All that has happened in the tussle is that the Congress party has suffered a big blow as six of its MLAs have been disqualified from the membership under the anti-defection law. But this disqualification is in the domain of the public and face legal scrutiny.  

While the Chief Minister convened his ministers and MLAs at Oak Over to redress their grievances  to strategize a response,  Vikramaditya Singh, who had resigned yesterday,  affirmed his stance, indicating that he awaits further directives from the party's high command.

It has proved that the storm is yet not over as the Congress damage control team is still in Shimla to mitigate the crisis. 

As the disqualified MLAs contemplate their next steps, the state Congress still remains in a thick of storm.