In a first incident of cross-voting in Himachal Pradesh, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan has won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state.
The 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 advocate and politician Abhishek Manu Singhvi as their candidate.
The BJP is said to have moved the Congress MLAs and three independent MLAs to a hotel at Panchkula in Haryana after the voting, said the sources.
Meanwhile, a video has also surfaced on social media of Congress MLAs being brought to PWD Rest House, Panchkula in vehicles.
A three-time former Congress MLA and Minister, Mahajan had been a close confidant of former Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh.
He had switched over to the BJP a few months ahead of the Assembly elections last year.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accused the BJP of having kidnapped around six Congress MLAs as they have gone incommunicado.
There are a total of 68 MLAs – Congress 40, BJP 25 and three independent MLAs.
Out of 68, 67 lawmakers are said to have exercised their votes as one of the Congress MLA Sudarshan Babloo could not come due to his ailing health.
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 social media to give vent to their feelings.
And also some of the Congress MLAs harboured resentment for having fielded Abhishek Manu Sanghvi, a non-Himachali for the lone seat, when there was no dearth of local leaders from the party.