Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Sunday said that the exit of Sukh Ram and his son, Anil Sharma, from the Congress was expected.
Singh also stressed that the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections would not suffer because of their exit.
"I'm not surprised at all. We had known it for a long time that they were contemplating it. We are not affected by it," Singh told media.
The Congress leader also remarked that Sukh Ram has had a reputation of changing parties and siding with the winning party.
"Sukh Ram has such record in the past. He is the first well known 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' in Himachal Pradesh," Singh said.
Responding to speculations of more party members pulling the plug, Singh said, "If one-two people go, it will be good riddance," adding that "there are some old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who are planning to join the Congress."
Ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Aassembly elections, cabinet minister Anil Sharma and his father, Sukh Ram, are set to join the BJP. The official announcement may be made later in the day.
The news emerged days after the Election Commission (EC) announced dates for polling in the state.
The state will go to the polls in a single-phase on November 9 and the counting will take place on December 18.
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