Former Congress’s Himachal Pradesh unit chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been elected as the next chief minister of the hill state after the party’s high command gave its nod. Meanwhile, Mukesh Agnihotri will be Sukhu’s deputy. The oath-taking ceremony of the new Congress-led government in Himachal will take place today at 1:30 pm.
As per sources, the chief minister and his deputy will take an oath at Ridge Maidan in Shimla at 1:30 pm on Sunday and the Cabinet will be expanded later.
Shortly after the decision was announced, Pratibha Singh said that she accepted the decision of the Congress high command.
On the other hand, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on Saturday, said, “We will run a very good government. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge will attend the oath ceremony tomorrow.”
The Himachal Congress leadership arrived at the Raj Bhawan on Saturday and CM Baghel, Bhupinder Hooda, Rajeev Shukla, and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh were present.
Congress has finalised the name of the 58-year-old MLA from Nadaun for the next Himachal CM’s face. The official announcement came after a meeting with newly-elected MLAs was concluded in Shimla on Saturday evening.
Previously, Sukhu held important offices in the state. He heads the Congress Campaign Committee and has been elected as the MLA for a record fifth time in Himachal. In the latest polls, Sukhu defeated BJP’s Vijay Agnihotri by a margin of 3363 votes.
