The six Congress MLAs, disqualified by Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Thursday, intend to pursue legal avenues and will petition the High Court to contest the ruling.

During the recent Rajya Sabha polls, the six rebel Congress MLAs—Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto - chose to abstain from voting on the finance bill in the assembly, defying the party whip. Consequently, the ruling Congress party pursued their disqualification, citing their breach of the party's directive.

As per the sources, the cabinet minister from Himachal Pradesh convened a meeting with the rebel MLAs at a hotel last night. The six rebel MLAs are reportedly collaborating on their petition to be filed with the High Court.

The disqualification action has led to vacancies in several assembly constituencies, including Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Sujanpur, Barsar, Gagret, and Kutlehar. This move, unprecedented under the anti-defection law, has diminished the effective strength of the House from 68 to 62, with the number of Congress MLAs decreasing from 40 to 34. Consequently, the opposition BJP now holds 25 seats in the assembly.

In a press conference, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania officially announced the disqualification, attributing the violation of the anti-defection law as the primary reason. Mr. Pathania clarified that the disqualified MLAs had contravened the party whip, leading to their immediate cessation as members of the House.

Senior advocate Satya Pal Jain, representing the disqualified Congress MLAs, argued that the mandatory seven days' time for replying to the notice was not given, and key documents were not supplied.

The disqualification occurs against the backdrop of a significant setback for the ruling Congress in the state, as the BJP successfully secured Himachal's sole Rajya Sabha seat. In a detailed 30-page order, Mr. Pathania emphasized the importance of prompt judgment in such cases to uphold the integrity of democracy and deter the "Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram" phenomenon, alluding to historical occurrences of legislators switching parties.

On Thursday, Congress' central observer DK Shivakumar stated that the political unrest in the state has now settled.

During a joint press conference attended by party leaders Bhupinder Hooda, Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, and Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh, Mr. Shivakumar declared that all internal differences had been resolved. He further announced the formation of a coordination committee to address any future internal matters, emphasizing the assurance that the Congress government would complete its full term in the Hill State.

"All the MLAs have assured and taken an oath to work together to save the party and the government," Mr Shivakumar said.