Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, 58, has been appointed as Congress chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. He was chief of party’s campaign committee in the recently held elections. He won the elections to assembly four times so far. A five-time MLA and another contender to the post of the chief minister Mukhesh Agnihotri will be the deputy chief minister.
“I started my political career at the age of 17. I will never be able to forget what the Congress party has done to me. I and Agnihotri will work like a team,” said Sukhu. He is considered close to Rahul Gandhi, former Congress president. However, he did not have very good relations with Virbhadra Singh who was chief minister for six times and who died last year. His wife Pratibha Singh was the leading contender for the top job.
Congress leader Ananda Sharma, one of the Group-23 leaders, said, “A matter of pride that the son of an ordinary family will be our CM, thanks to our leadership. Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for leading a spirited campaign. My good wishes and support to my new CM Sukhu” in a tweet.
“We accept the decision taken by the Congress high command” said Pratibha Singh on Saturday evening. The supporters of Pratibha Singh have protested this afternoon when the news leaked that she is not going to be named by party high command. They expressed their resentment at the hotel the party observers are staying. However, it is understood that not many of the newly elected MLAs are her supporters. Yesterday the MLAs had passed a one-line resolution requesting the party high command to select the leader.
Sukhu has been the rising star of the Congress. He was activist in Himachal Pradesh university, Shimla. He led the NSUI HP unit in late 1980s. Graduating to a fulltime politician, he was president of the State Youth Congress in the 2000s. Though he is an outsider to Shimla, he won municipal elections from the State capital twice. He rose to the level of PCC chief. Kuldeep Rathod replaced him as a method of compromise among factions. After Virbhadra Singh’s death last year, he wife, a rani, was made the PCC chief to factor the symapathy for the departed leader who was chief minister for six times. He is a third time MLA from Nadaun in Hamirpur district. He is an advocate by education.
