Who will be the Congress’s Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister?
Former state president Sukhwinder Sukhu, LoP Mukesh Agnihotri, MP and Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh lead the Himachal polls; Agnihotri claims the government would not need rebels.
NOW THAT IT SEEMS LIKE IT WILL FORM THE GOVERNMENT IN HIMACHAL PRADESH, THE CONGRESS MAY FACE A PROBLEM OF PLENTY, with multiple chief minister candidates in the running.
During the campaign, Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the Congress, claiming that the party had at least eight candidates for the position of Chief Minister. In response to the remark, Sudhir Sharma, a former MLA from Dharamshala and ex-minister, stated, “The Congress is a democratic party where everyone may dream of becoming the Chief Minister.” “He’s talking about eight CM candidates,” he added, “but there might be more.” After all, it demonstrates how democratic the Congress is.”
Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Mukesh Agnihotri, and Pratibha Singh are the three regarded to be ahead of the rest in the race. While Singh is a sitting MP who did not run for re-election, Sukhu and Agnihotri were on track to win their seats.
While two other leaders, Asha Kumari and Kaul Singh Thakur, were considered for the position, they are now nearly out of the running. While Kumari, a six-time MLA from Dalhousie, is expected to lose her seat, Thakur, an eight-time MLA from Mandi’s Drang district, has also lost his seat.
Speaking to the press after the results suggested that the Congress would win a majority, Agnihotri stated that the party will not require rebels to form the government, despite the BJP’s assertions that it still had a chance.
SUKHVINDER SINGH SUKHU:
Sukhu, the previous state president and chairman of the campaign committee, contested for the Nadaun seat in central Himachal. The party’s cadre considers the three-term MLA to be one of the strongest prospects for the office of CM. Officially, Sukhu declared that the party’s top leadership will select the CM.
MUKESH AGNIHOTRI:
Agnihotri, the Leader of the Opposition, ran from Haroli in south-west Himachal. Before delimitation, his seat was called Santokgarh, and he was elected for the first time in 2003. Following the 2017 Assembly elections, Agnihotri was chosen leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).
PRATIBHA SINGH:
Pratibha Singh, the wife of former Himachal CM and Congress doyen Virbhadra Singh, was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Mandi in central Himachal, beating Maheshwar Singh. In the 2013 byelection, she beat incumbent chief minister Jai Ram Thakur from the seat formerly held by her husband before he became CM. Following the death of the BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma, she was elected MP.