Going into battle without naming a CM face may have worked for Congress by keeping a lid on factionalism, but it left the victors with too many hopefuls for the top seat.
A decision on the CM will be made at the newly elected MLA meeting in Shimla, venue decided with newfound confidence that with 40 MLA, Congress can hold off any haggling offers.
There are at least three contenders for the CM chair: Pratibha Singh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu And Mukesh Agnihotri. Three others – Kaul Singh, Ram Lal Thakur and Asha Kumari – lost the elections.
As the chairman of the state party, Pratibha is credited with fueling the victory alongside Sukhu and Agnihotri. He had lost his first parliamentary election since Mandi in 1998, but won the seat in 2004 and the 2013 by-election, defeating the BJP’s Jai Ram
Thakur. In 2014, she was defeated by BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma, but she won last year’s bypoll.
Sukhu, a former CCP head and four-time MLA, was the campaign committee chairman. Agnihotri, like LoP, has kept the government of Jai Ram Thakur of the BJP on its toes for the past five years, raising issues of public importance within and outside the assembly. He is five times MLA.
The Congress victory strengthened the Virbhadra family’s grip on the organization. The party fought the elections under the leadership of Pratibha, his wife, as the Congress high command knows that the people of Himachal are emotionally attached to Virbhadra Singh. To cash in on the Virbhadra factor in the assembly elections, Congress had appointed Pratibha as state president in April this year. And now that Congress has won 40 of the 68 assembly seats, a section of the party wants to see her as prime minister.
Interacting with reporters in Shimla on Wednesday, Pratibha said Virbhadra’s family could not be “ignored”. “Virbhadra Singh’s legacy and family cannot be ignored. All the successful candidates feel the same way. This fact will be brought before the high command of the party and they will definitely take into account all considerations before deciding on the name of the prime minister,” he said.
Pratibha Singh
As the chairman of the state party, she is credited for her spectacular performance in the assembly elections alongside Sukhu and Agnihotri. She had unsuccessfully contested her first parliamentary election from the Mandi parliamentary seat in 1998, but she had won from the same seat in 2004 and in the 2013 by-election she had defeated Jai Ram Thakur. But in 2014 she was defeated by BJP candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma. In the by-election held last year, you once again won from this seat.
A decision on the CM will be made at the newly elected MLA meeting in Shimla, venue decided with newfound confidence that with 40 MLA, Congress can hold off any haggling offers.
There are at least three contenders for the CM chair: Pratibha Singh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu And Mukesh Agnihotri. Three others – Kaul Singh, Ram Lal Thakur and Asha Kumari – lost the elections.
As the chairman of the state party, Pratibha is credited with fueling the victory alongside Sukhu and Agnihotri. He had lost his first parliamentary election since Mandi in 1998, but won the seat in 2004 and the 2013 by-election, defeating the BJP’s Jai Ram
Thakur. In 2014, she was defeated by BJP’s Ram Swaroop Sharma, but she won last year’s bypoll.
Sukhu, a former CCP head and four-time MLA, was the campaign committee chairman. Agnihotri, like LoP, has kept the government of Jai Ram Thakur of the BJP on its toes for the past five years, raising issues of public importance within and outside the assembly. He is five times MLA.
The Congress victory strengthened the Virbhadra family’s grip on the organization. The party fought the elections under the leadership of Pratibha, his wife, as the Congress high command knows that the people of Himachal are emotionally attached to Virbhadra Singh. To cash in on the Virbhadra factor in the assembly elections, Congress had appointed Pratibha as state president in April this year. And now that Congress has won 40 of the 68 assembly seats, a section of the party wants to see her as prime minister.
Interacting with reporters in Shimla on Wednesday, Pratibha said Virbhadra’s family could not be “ignored”. “Virbhadra Singh’s legacy and family cannot be ignored. All the successful candidates feel the same way. This fact will be brought before the high command of the party and they will definitely take into account all considerations before deciding on the name of the prime minister,” he said.
Pratibha Singh
As the chairman of the state party, she is credited for her spectacular performance in the assembly elections alongside Sukhu and Agnihotri. She had unsuccessfully contested her first parliamentary election from the Mandi parliamentary seat in 1998, but she had won from the same seat in 2004 and in the 2013 by-election she had defeated Jai Ram Thakur. But in 2014 she was defeated by BJP candidate Ram Swaroop Sharma. In the by-election held last year, you once again won from this seat.
Pratibha Singh (PTI photo)
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
He was the chairman of the election committee in this election. He has so far participated in five elections and won four. He contested the first election in 2003 and won. He was re-elected in 2007 but suffered defeat in 2012. He was re-elected in 2017 and now in 2022. He was also named state congressional president in 2013.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Mukesh Agnihotri
As the leader of the opposition, he kept the Jai Ram Thakur-led government on its toes by raising issues of public importance within and outside the assembly. He contested his first election in 2003 and won subsequent elections in 2007, 2012, 2017 and now 2022.
Mukesh Agnihotri
