New Delhi:

The Congress is on alert in Himachal Pradesh – a state it almost lost after its defeat in Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha elections and its government on the verge of collapse – after reports that Vikramaditya Singh met six rebel MLAs on Thursday night, whose crosses -Voting gave rise to this political storm.

Mr Singh – son of six-time former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh – did not cross-vote, but his emotional outburst that day, in which he accused the Congress of disrespecting his father’s memory, was an additional challenge for the party. It countered attacks from the rival Bharatiya Janata Party.

Himachal’s Urban Development Minister is in Delhi for two days to meet the Union Road and Transport Ministry. Sources said he met the rebel MLAs – who this morning moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court against their disqualification – in Panchkula, which is in BJP-ruled Haryana.

Sources also said that two other Himachal Pradesh Congress MLAs have also met the rebels.

Neither party has yet commented on the subject of these discussions.

Mr Singh’s mother Pratibha Singh, who heads the state unit of the Congress, told news agency ANI that she had “no idea” about her son’s programme. “He was here till last night. What he did after that… I don’t know.”

Amid speculation that the Singh family is biding its time before challenging Congress’ chief ministerial-elect Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu for control of the state government, Ms Singh also said she was not aware of the party’s behind-the-scenes influence. Boss – Will meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. – “To keep them informed”.

Read | “It is natural for MLAs to be angry…”: Himachal Congress chief on cross voting

“Definitely. They are our high command and we have to go and apprise them…that this is the situation now in Himachal Pradesh and (they) can tell us what to do,” he said.

Ms Singh’s further comments – including telling ANI that “…it is true that the BJP (government) is doing a better job than us” – appear to indicate that the Congress’s Himachal problems are far from over. Have happened.

These comments are being viewed in view of the general elections to be held in a few months.

The hill state has been a BJP stronghold since Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought his party to power at the Centre; There may be four seats, but in 2014 and 2019 BJP won all four.

“From day one I have been telling the Chief Minister that we can face the upcoming elections only if he strengthens the organisation. It is a very difficult situation for us… We can see a lot of difficulties on the ground (and) PM BJP is going to do a lot on the instructions of Modi.

#Watch , When asked about speculations about Vikramaditya Singh meeting six disqualified Congress MLAs, Himachal Pradesh Congress President Pratibha Singh says, “I have no information about it. He was here till last night. What decision did he take next and where?” Gone, I’m telling.” , pic.twitter.com/gqwAIHcfZR

– ANI (@ANI) 1 March 2024

Ms Singh, who also showed sympathy for the cross-voting MLAs, said, “We are in a weak position… I have urged them again and again. These are difficult times, but still we have to fight the elections and Have to win.”

On Wednesday, when the Congress was dealing with the challenge of cross-voting by MLAs, Vikramaditya Singh had announced his resignation. He accused the Chief Minister of being “negligent” towards his MLAs and broke down in tears while accusing the party of not allotting land for his father’s statue.

Read | “Land not found for father’s statue”: Himachal Congress leader

He declared, “In the last year, I have not said a single word on this government, but now it is my responsibility to speak…”. Hours later he backed down, but in doing so he underlined his duplicitous stance.

On the same day, Congress adopted a last ditch effort to save itself and expelled 15 BJP MLAs to reduce the effective strength of the House and pass the state budget.

Read | Congress bought time in Himachal? Budget passed amid fears of a coup

The assembly session was then adjourned, putting the party on hold until at least after the general elections.

The BJP must now also oppose the expulsion of its MLAs – including former chief minister Jairam Thakur – before it can launch another attack on its rival.

On its part, the Congress has declared itself ‘safe’ for now after the arrival of its top trouble-shooter, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Read | “All is well”: DK Shivkumar on crisis in Himachal Congress unit

He met both Vikramaditya Singh and Pratibha Singh in Shimla on Thursday evening, after which he told reporters, “Everything is fine. This government will be in place for five years. All issues have been resolved…”

The crisis escalated when six rebels and three independent MLAs, who had expressed their support, voted for the BJP candidate in this week’s Rajya Sabha elections and were then taken over by the party.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click the link To get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.