Himachal by-election results: "Victory of people over money power," says CM Sukhu

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 13 : Following the victory of Congress candidates in two out of three assembly constituencies in the recent by-elections in the state, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said it was a victory of the people over money power.
"This is a victory for voters of the state and the dedicated efforts of Congress party workers," CM Sukhu told a large gathering of Congress supporters at his official residence, Oak Over.
"This is the victory of people over money power. The voters have delivered a strong rebuke to the politics of horse-trading and have voted to maintain political integrity in the state. It had been 25 years since a Congress candidate won in Dehra. In Nalagarh, too, the candidate secured a significant victory. The election outcome has sent a clear message to the entire country and in the future, no candidate of any party in Himachal Pradesh will dare engage him or her in horse-trading for the next 50 years," said the Chief Minister.
He said that attempts to destabilise the government since February 28, 2024, have been successfully thwarted and the conspiracies aimed at toppling the democratically elected government have failed. With this victory, the number of Congress party MLAs in the assembly has risen to 40 again.
He criticised the leader of the opposition, Jai Ram Thakur for his repeated claims of forming a BJP government in the state and the centre before Lok Sabha elections, terming the BJP's "Operation Lotus" a big failure. He said that despite the clear mandate of the public, Jai Ram Thakur continued misleading the people of the state by making false and exaggerated claims.
The Chief Minister also condemned the deeds of three independent MLAs and said these three have imposed the bye-election on the people by conspiring to overthrow the government. "Rather than supporting the opposition in the assembly, these MLAs left the state for a month and staged a protest to have their resignations accepted outside the Vidhan Sabha. The public has given a befitting reply to their obstinacy through the election results, which is also a good lesson for all those who were trying to destabilise the Congress government in the state," he said.
He said that in the bye-polls held in 13 ACs all over the country, the BJP has only managed two seats out of 13 and that too with a thin margin, which clearly indicates that the people across the country have rejected the autocracy of the BJP leaders, its ideology and its policies of being in power by befooling people.