Congress party stakes claim to form govt in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla, December 9

A team of Congress central observers today met Governor Rajender Vishwanath Arlekar and formally staked claim to form government. The Congress has attained a simple majority by winning 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda and Himachal Congress in-charge Rajeev Shukla met the Governor at the Raj Bhawan here. They handed over a formal letter to the Governor, staking claim to from government.

The trio arrived here in the afternoon from Chandigarh. HPCC president Pratibha Singh had a meeting with them before they left for the Raj Bhawan.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had yesterday handed over his resignation to the Governor, who had asked him to continue in office till the new government was formed.

The Governor, on the advice of the Council of Ministers, has dissolved the Legislative Assembly. Now, everyone is waiting for the Congress to announce the name of Chief Minister to form government.