Newly appointed chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday assumed charge of office at the state civil secretariat in Shimla and said that cabinet formation will be done according to high command guidelines.
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“Today I am taking charge as the CM of the state. All MLAs, the deputy CM and senior members of the party will work for the welfare of the state,” he said.
He will be the second chief minister from Hamirpur district after the BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal. The Congress won the assembly elections in the state, winning 40 seats. “Cabinet formation will also be done soon according to the guidelines of the Congress high command,” the CM said.
Sukhu took oath as the 15th chief minister of the hill state at a ceremony in Shimla on Sunday. The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
Sukhu, 58, is a loyalist of the Gandhi family and a four-time MLA. He is a former chief of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the Congress.
{{/usCountry}}Sukhu, 58, is a loyalist of the Gandhi family and a four-time MLA. He is a former chief of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the Congress.
{{/usCountry}}EXPERIENCED ORGANISATIONAL HAND
Sukhu is an approachable leader who has a vast network in the hill state due to his long years in the organisation. He also holds a broad organisational experience in the state owing to his connection with the grand old party for many years.
He was the party’s state unit president from 2013-19 and spoke his mind even if it was not to the liking of the party’s tallest leader Virbhadra Singh, a six-time chief minister.
Sukhu has been in favour of promoting and grooming younger Congress leaders in Himachal Pradesh.
With Congress chief ministers over the past four decades coming from Rampur Bushahr, the Congress central leadership was apparently keen to expand its choice.
FIRST CONGRESS CM FROM LOWER HP
Sukhu will be the first Congress leader from lower Himachal to come to the top post.
Sukhu belongs to a middle-class family.
He was active in politics from his student days and fought elections as an NSUI candidate. He was president of the NSUI and the Youth Congress in the state. He fought and won elections for the Shimla Municipal Corporation. He won the assembly election for the first time in 2003 from Nadaun.
Sukhu was chairman of the Congress Campaign Committee for the assembly elections in which the party focused on local issues and made lucrative promises, including the implementation of the old pension scheme.