NEW DELHI, March 26 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday named six disqualified Congress MLAs as its candidates for the Himachal Pradesh assembly bypolls, triggering a rebellion by party leaders who expected they would be fielded from these seats.

Hours after the BJP announcement, former minister Ram Lal Markanda quit the party and announced he would "definitely" contest the bypolls. BJP leader Ranjit Singh also said he will contest as an Independent.

Former minister Virender Kanwar, who was defeated last time by one of the Congress rebels, expressed displeasure over the announcement by his party.

All six of them switched over to the BJP from the Congress on March 23, nearly a month after being disqualified from the House for defyi...