SHIMLA: Intense lobbying by
Congress hopefuls for the Himachal Pradesh chief ministership — including PCC chief and six-term former CM Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh publicly asserting her late husband’s political legacy — culminated late Friday in a CLP meeting passing a resolution authorising the party’s high command to decide who gets to head the new government.
Who are Congress’s CM contenders in Himachal Pradesh
“They (the party leadership) cannot neglect his (Virbhadra) family, not the least because the election was fought in his name,” ANI quoted Pratibha as saying before the CLP meeting got underway. “When I was appointed state party chief, then AICC president
Sonia Gandhi asked me to ensure Congress’s victory. I visited all 68 assembly constituencies. Our tally of 40 seats is the outcome of the hard work we put in.”
The single-point resolution stated that the high command’s pick from among the three contenders — Pratibha, campaign committee chairperson
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Mukesh Agnihotri — would be accepted by all MLAs.
AICC general secretary and Himachal in-charge Rajeev Shukla denied there was factionalism in the party. “No name was discussed in the meeting for the position of CLP leader, and this itself shows a unanimous decision has been taken,” he said.
Battle for CM post: Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh's supporters gather outside party office in Shimla, raise slogans in her support
Shukla, accompanied by Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, his former Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and contenders Pratibha and Sukhu, said party observers would submit their reports to the high command on Saturday, based on which a decision would be taken.
The meeting started late in the evening in the presence of a bevy of central observers, including Baghel, Hooda, Shukla and AICC secretaries Gurkirat Singh Kotli,
Sanjay Dutt and Tejinder Pal Singh Bittu.
The meeting of newly elected Congress MLAs was to be held at the state party office in Shimla around noon, but was postponed to 3pm as the majority of them arrived late. It was rescheduled to 6pm, but didn’t start until close to 8pm.
Sukhu told reporters before going into the meeting that he wasn’t in the race for the chief ministership, projecting himself as “a disciplined soldier and party worker”.
PCC chief Pratibha’s son and Shimla (Rural) MLA Vikramaditya Singh said choosing the CM was the prerogative of the newly elected legislators, around 22 of whom are apparently backing Sukhu. Some among the rest support either Pratibha or Agnihotri while about five MLAs have adopted a wait-and-watch approach.
Pratibha’s supporters are mounting pressure on the high command through the observers to name her the CM, sources said.
Just when the central observers were leaving the Chaura Maidan hotel to meet governor Rajendra Arlekar to stake claim to form the government, a group of supporters owing allegiance to Pratibha blocked their way and raised slogans in her support. The scene was repeated in front of the party office before the start of the CLP meeting.
How seats shifted from BJP to Congress in Himachal Pradesh