Cross-vote quake: No end to Sukhu, Sudhir political feud

The ongoing war of words between Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Dharamsala BJP legislator Sudhir Sharma showed no signs of cooling down, as the two once again traded sharp barbs today in the wake of the Rajya Sabha cross-voting controversy, where six Congress MLAs voted against the party line.

Speaking to the media, CM Sukhu questioned the source of Sharma’s recent donations — Rs 51 lakh for disaster-hit residents of Seraj and Rs 21 lakh for another cause. “I don’t think he has withdrawn that much from his bank account. We will have to see where this money has come from and whether it is linked to his switching parties,” Sukhu alleged.

Sharma, refusing to be rattled, hit back in a Facebook post: “He seems to be gripped with Sudhirphobia. I am not the one to get intimidated; I actually pity him.”

Sharma, who won the Dharamsala byelection on a BJP ticket in June last year after quitting Congress, went a step further—alleging that Rs 1 crore was routed through Chandigarh by certain officers to ensure his defeat in the bypoll, claiming he had proof to back his charges.

The political feud intensified after the February 27, 2024, Rajya Sabha elections, where Sharma and five other Congress MLAs—ID Lakhanpal (Barsar), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti), Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Devinder Bhutto (Kutlehar), and Chaitanya Sharma — cross-voted in favour of BJP’s Harsh Mahajan, leading to the defeat of Congress nominee and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

The very next day, February 28, all six dissident MLAs skipped the state budget session, prompting Speaker Kuldeep Pathania to disqualify them from the Assembly.

The Sukhu–Sharma rivalry, once a routine political difference, has now morphed into a deeply personal battle. Their exchanges, often laced with sarcasm and allegations, mark an unusually bitter tone in Himachal politics.