Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu sworn in as Himachal CM

Congress' four-time MLA and election campaign committee chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu took oath as the new chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. With him, Mukesh Agnihotri, the state party chief, took oath as Deputy CM.

Sukhu won the race for the top post beating two other contenders - Pratibha Singh and Mukesh Agnihotri.  

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, and other party leaders attended the ceremony.

Pratibha Singh, who had pitched for the chief ministerial post soon after the result was announced, is the Lok Sabha MP from Mandi. After the results, she suggested that the mandate was for the former chief minister and her late husband Virbhadra Singh.

However, reports suggest that Congress did not go with her as it would have necessitated two byelections. She would have to vacate her constituency and fight another election to enter the assembly. Considering the close winning margin in Himachal this time (less than one per cent), Congress decided to go with Sukhu. 

Sukhu, a known detractor of Virbhadra Singh, thanked the party and the Gandhi family for their support. He said: "I am from a humble background and started my political career from the grassroots at the age of 17...I am here to win the hearts and fulfill all the poll promises made by the Congress.” 

Sukhu is the son of a road transport corporation driver. He had a modest beginning and used to run a milk counter at Chhota Shimla in his early days. He was the general secretary and later became the president of the state unit of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress. 

He holds MA and LLB from Himachal Pradesh University and was elected twice as councillor of Shimla Municipal Corporation. He entered the assembly for the first time in 2003 from Nadaun. He won again from here in 2007 but lost the next poll held in 2012. Sukhu won the seat again in 2017 and 2022. This time, he defeated BJP's Vijay Kumar by 3363 votes. 

Sukhu expressed his gratitude to Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Kharge for giving him this responsibility. He also said that Agnihotri was like a brother and they would work together for the development of the state and the welfare of the weaker section. 

Sukhu had been at loggerheads with Virbhadra Singh, who was the six-time chief minister of Himachal. Despite this, he remained the party's state chief for a record six years from 2013 to 2019. Sukhu's election as the new chief minister upset the supporters of Pratibha Singh, who had earlier said that Virbhadra Singh's family cannot be ignored. Her supporters raised slogans that “Sukhu Nahi Chalega” and “Rani sahiba ko mukhyamantri banao”. 

They blocked the gates of hotel Cecil where the party's central observers - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda - and Rajeev Shukla were staying. "We accept the decision of the high command," Pratibha Singh said after the CLP meeting on Saturday.

Party sources indicated that Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh will be included in the Cabinet. 

(With inputs from PTI)