• Himachal Pradesh speaker suspends 15 BJP MLAs, including leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur, adjourns House: reports PTI
• 6 Congress MLAs, who cross-voted in RS polls, leave Panchkula for undisclosed location
  
• Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh announces resignation from post
  

Just how deep the political management crisis has become in the Congress was on Tuesday vividly manifested in party-ruled Himachal Pradesh when Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha election despite a 43-25 arithmetical supremacy over the BJP.

Tuesday's developments could also be a precursor to another "Operation Kamal" many in the party fear.

While Singhvi accused the BJP of adopting illegal means and chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu blasted the MLAs for “selling their soul”, a senior leader summed up the mood in the party: “We are like a boat cut adrift from its moorings. We want our survival to depend on the good conduct of the BJP. The truth is that there is no political management at all.”

Another leader echoed similar sentiments, saying: “The growing threat of dissent in Himachal was known to everybody. What was the in-charge (Rajeev Shukla) doing? Those who are assigned the task to run the party are behaving like private secretaries to Rahul Gandhi, as if there are no other political affairs to manage. We hope this jolt will serve as a wake-up call. Condemning the BJP is not enough.”

With six party MLAs and three Independents who supported the Congress shifting to Panchkula in BJP-ruled Haryana, the next chapter in Himachal could be a test of strength for the government.

Although 34 MLAs are with the party in the Assembly of 68, the government is doubtless placed precariously and the BJP is already talking about a no-confidence motion.

What could be a ray of hope for the Congress is the perception that the rebel MLAs are said to be unhappy with the chief minister and are not itching to destabilise the government.

“They just wanted to send a message to the high command, which gave a free hand to the chief minister instead of balancing political interests,” a source said, refuting the chance of the government losing majority.

In the worst case, the rebel MLAs can be disqualified, which will reduce the majority mark and save the government.