New Delhi: With the Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh, state party president Pratibha Singh is being considered as the main contender for the chief minister’s post, followed by former party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and outgoing CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri. The immediate challenge for the Congress is to decide on a chief ministerial face who can bind the party in the long run. The newly elected legislators will meet soon to decide on their leader.
Though Pratibha Singh did not contest the assembly elections and is not an MLA, she campaigned extensively across the state. Singh is currently the Mandi MP after winning the bypoll from the home district of the outgoing Chief Minister Jairam Thakur.
She is also carrying forward the legacy of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who led the Congress in the state for over four decades. Party sources claimed that Singh has the support of a majority of MLAs, who owe their allegiance to Virbhadra Singh, the undisputed leader of the Congress in the hill state for long.
Read also: Who is Pratibha Singh? Will she be the next Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh?
Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya has been elected as MLA from Shimla Rural and is also among the hopefuls, even though many consider him too young for the top post. Other CM candidates are Sukhu, MLA from Nadaun and Agnihotri, elected from Haroli. Both hope that the party high command will recognize his work as a former PCC chief and leader of the Congress Legislature Party.
Agnihotri claims that he as the CLP leader firmly held the party’s position in the state assembly and exposed the “misrule” of the BJP during the past five years. Agnihotri is a Brahmin leader, while Sukhu comes from the dominant Thakur community in the state.
Former PCC chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore, who won from Theog in a multi-cornered contest, is also a contender for the chief minister’s post, claiming that he brought together the factionalized party over the years. Rathore was replaced as the Himachal unit chief with Pratibha Singh a few months ago.
Some other candidates like six-time MLA Asha Kumari and former PCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur lost the elections this time.
Interestingly, many Congress leaders had contested the election in the hope that they would be the party’s chief ministerial candidate. This also helped them garner substantial support in their respective constituencies. During the election campaign, Home Minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders took a jibe at the Congress over its chief ministerial-aspirant.