SHIMLA, Feb. 28 -- With Congress MLAs cross voting despite the party issuing a whip, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan on Tuesday won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh, defeating ruling Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Officials said the contest was tied at 34-34 votes, after which Mahajan was declared winner by a draw of lots.
This is a major jolt for the Congress which came to power in the state in December 2022 and has 40 MLAs in the 68-member state assembly and claimed support of the independents. The result made it clear that nine MLAs, including six of the Congress, voted in favour of the BJP which was confident that Congress MLAs would exercise 'conscience vote'.
Mahajan, a three-time Congress MLA and former minister, had ...