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Consensus eludes Himachal Congress on CM, party observers head for Delhi
Congress high command to decide on the new chief minister after receiving report of two observers and state AICC in-charge
As the Congress high command in New Delhi is set to decide the next chief minister of Himachal Pradesh after the party won the assembly elections on December 8, party observers Bhupesh Baghel and Bhupinder Singh Hooda and AICC in-charge of the state unit Rajiv Shukla met the newly elected party candidates in Shimla on Saturday morning before leaving for the national capital.
Also read: Himachal elections results: Rebels dent BJP, Congress’s prospects in 12 seats
The party observers met the newly elected party candidates at a hotel in Shimla again in the morning after Friday’s meeting and headed to submit their report to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Former state party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri and party leader Rajinder Rana are considered to be in the race, party sources said.
However, finalising the chief ministerial candidate has become a sticky task for the Congress as Pratibha Singh, the widow of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh, is another contender with her supporters gathering outside the Congress headquarters in Shimla in large numbers on Friday evening and demanding she be appointed CM.
NOT KEEN ON BYELECTIONS
According to sources close to the Congress high command, Sukhu, Agnihotri and Rana are in the race for the chief minister’s post.
“The chief minister will be from among the MLAs only. The high command feels that two by-elections will have to be held if Pratibha Singh is made the chief minister. One of the Lok Sabha, the other of the legislative assembly,” said the sources.
The sources said Pratibha Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh might be given a higher position in the cabinet to placate her. “In such a situation, when Congress lost nine out of 10 seats in Mandi, it would not be appropriate to go for by-elections immediately. The atmosphere that has been created after winning the election somewhere can get spoiled. Vikramaditya may be given a higher position in the cabinet,” the source said.
Sources close to the high command also rejected Pratibha Singh’s claim of support of 25 MLAs.
According to them, there are more MLAs with Sukhu.
NO DIVISION IN PARTY: SHUKLA
On Friday, newly-elected Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh passed a resolution to leave the decision of choosing the chief minister to the party’s high command and the final stamp on the name of the CM will be put in Delhi.
The decision was announced at a press conference by AICC in-charge of the state Rajiv Shukla in Shimla.
The meeting of newly-elected MLAs was held a day after the declaration of results in the state in which the Congress gained an absolute majority with 40 seats. The BJP got 25 seats.
Shukla said media reports that there is a division inside the party are wrong. “All 40 MLAs took part in the CLP meeting on Friday and all have unanimously passed the proposal to leave the decision to select the CM of the state on party high command,” he said. “Media reports that there is a division inside the party are absolutely wrong,” he added.
Shukla said no name was suggested by any MLA. “All MLAs unanimously passed a resolution to leave the decision of choosing the CM to the party’s high command. We will submit our report to the party high command on Saturday,” he said.
