With all eyes on the result of the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh cross-voting has placed the Congress government in the state in a precarious situation.
According to sources, there has been cross-voting as three independent MLAs and six Congress MLAs are said to have voted for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.
The Congress had fielded Abhishek Manu Singhvi as their candidate.
The BJP is said to have moved the Congress MLAs and the three independent MLAs to a hotel at Panchkula in the neighbouring state of Haryana after the voting, said the sources.
Meanwhile, a video surfaced on social media of the Congress MLAs being brought to a PWD rest house in Panchkula in vehicles.
Three-time Congress MLA and minister Mahajan had been a close confidant of former Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh. He had switched over to BJP a few months ahead of the Assembly elections last year.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused the BJP of kidnapping around six Congress MLAs as they have gone out of touch.
There are a total of 68 MLAs, of which Congress MLAs were 40, BJP 25 and three independent MLAs.
The BJP had forced a contest by fielding Harsh Mahajan, banking on the dissidence within the Congress party that had come to fore time and again with some MLAs being vocal against their own government and even taking to so social media to give vent to their feelings.