Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu to be new Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mukesh Agnihotri his deputy
Aditi Tandon/Pratibha Chauhan
New Delhi/Shimla, December 10
Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu who headed the Congress campaign committee in Himachal Pradesh will be the next chief minister, the party announced. Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing Assembly, will be the deputy chief minister, the party said after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party. All 40 MLAs signed on the letter electing Sukhu as CM.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Bhagel made the announcement after the CLP meeting in Shimla on Saturday. He said the new Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will be sworn in on December 11.
The party’s central observers along with Sukhu, Pratibha Singh and other leaders called on Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and staked claim to form the government.
The swearing-in ceremony will take place on Sunday and senior leaders including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will attend.
The swearing in ceremony of the new Government in Himachal will be attended by Congress President @kharge, Former Congress President @RahulGandhi and AICC General Secretary @priyankagandhi.
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) December 10, 2022
Congratulations to Sukhvinder Sukhu on becoming the next Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Richly deserved recognition of his life long commitment to the Congress party and acknowledged contribution.
— Anand Sharma (@AnandSharmaINC) December 10, 2022
Nadaun MLA Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu reportedly had the support of a majority of Congress MLAs. He was made the chairman of the Congress Campaign Committee for the Assembly elections.
Rising through the ranks, he was a relentless fighter and remained the party’s state unit president for a record six years from 2013 to 2019 despite being frequently at loggerheads with Virbhadra Singh, a six-time chief minister.
He won the assembly election for the first time in 2003 from Nadaun in Hamirpur district, retained the seat in 2007 but was defeated in 2012 and won again in 2017 and 2022.
Sukhu will be the first Congress leader from Lower Himachal — comprising areas merged in Himachal in 1966 such as Nalagarh, Una, Hamirpur, Kangra and lower hills of Kullu — to occupy the top post. He will be the second chief minister from Hamirpur district, after BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal.
The Congress wrested power from the BJP in the hill state winning 40 of the 68 assembly seats. The polling was held on November 12 and the results were declared Thursday.
