The coming days could be decisive for Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Cross-voting by six Congress MLAs led to a favourable result for the BJP nominee in the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat on Tuesday has come as a double whammy for the Chief Minister, and, possibly, his government.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Wednesday amid strong buzz that the BJP was considering bringing a no-confidence motion against the Sukhu government. Speaking to the media after meeting the Governor, Thakur said that the Congress has lost the mandate and “has no right to remain in power”.

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“BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won the Rajya Sabha election despite the Congress having massive majority in Vidhan Sabha… Right now, Congress government has no right to remain in power,” he said.

The development came a day after BJP’s Mahajan and Congress candidate Abhishek Singhvi secured 34 votes each, leading to a decision through a draw of lots. The BJP has 25 MLAs in the 68-member Assembly while the Congress has 40.

The bigger challenge for Congress, however, lies in quelling the internal dissent which appears to be peaking right before the passage of the state Budget in the Assembly. In the meeting with the Governor, the BJP has pressed for the passage of the state Budget through a division of votes instead of a voice vote.

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The demand stems from the claims by MLAs who cross-voted that as many as 26 MLAs of the Congress want Sukhu out as Chief Minister. The first evidence of the brewing rebellion came after Vikramaditya Singh, Himachal Pradesh minister and son of late CM Virbhadra Singh, resigned from the Cabinet expressing a lack of confidence in the incumbent chief minister.

“In the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government. So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers. I am resigning as a minister. In the time to come, I will have video consultations with my people and then decide about the future course of action,” Singh said addressing the media today.

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Singh said that he had briefed the party high command regarding the situation. “Now the ball is in the court of the party high command, they have to decide what the future course of action will be. But I have been very clear and very categorical in what I had to say. I am sure that whatever decision will be taken, it will be taken in the larger interest of the organisation, of the party, and the people of this state,” Singh said after announcing his resignation as minister.

The latest setback deals a fresh blow to the Congress government which now stares at a tangible threat to its government if it fails to get the Budget passed in the state Assembly. Failing to get the Budget passed would automatically prove that the government does not enjoy a majority in the House.

The happenings in Himachal Pradesh have been in the making for some time now. There have been murmurs of dissent of Vikramaditya Singh and state unit chief Pratibha Singh being unhappy with a diminished role following Virbhadra’s demise.

The first open signs of their displeasure came when Vikramaditya backed the Ram Temple and even defied the party’s directive against attending the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.