Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu takes oath as 15th Himachal Pradesh CM

• Sukhu shares a close relationship with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
• Sukhu was twice elected as the chief of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.
• Sukhu often found himself at loggerheads with six-time Chief Minister, the late Virbhadra Singh.

After two days of consultation, senior Himachal Pradesh Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu took oath as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday evening. Sukhu extended thanks to the Gandhi family and the people of the state.

“I am grateful to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and the people of the state. Our government will bring a change,” he said. “It is my responsibility to fulfill the promises made to the people of Himachal,” he said.

There was a lot speculation over the selection of candidate amid apprehension of poaching. The state leaders asked the Central leadership to take the decision.  Sukhu, who is considered close to party leader Rahul Gandhi, name was on top. The other leading contender for the post of was Mukesh Agnihotri who was earlier the Leader of Opposition in the outgoing state assembly. This is the first time that Himachal has got a deputy chief minister. Sukhu and Agnihotri were sworn in at around 1:30 pm in Shimla.

Sukhu was the in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Congress Campaign Committee in the recently concluded assembly polls in which Congress defeated the led BJP government. He is a four-time MLA and a former Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief.

The names of Sukhu and Agnihotri were finalised by the Congress leadership following deliberations with the MLAs over two days amid hectic lobbying by aspirants, according to sources.

In a meeting on Friday evening, the MLAs had unanimously passed a resolution authorising the Congress president to pick the legislature party leader after the three leaders reached the venue with their supporters who raised slogan in their favour, reported PTI. After a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Shimla, its second in 24 hours, Congress’s central observer and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced the election of Sukhu as the CLP leader.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla announced that Agnihotri would be the deputy chief minister. Soon after the announcement, the Congress leadership left for the residence of the governor to stake claim to form the government, reported Outlook.

Who is Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu?

Sukhu was born in 1964 and rose to prominence as a grassroots leader. Son of a road transport corporation driver, Sukhu had a modest beginning and used to run a milk counter at Chhota Shimla in his early days. He became the party’s state unit president for a record six years during 2013-19 despite being frequently at loggerheads with Virbhadra Singh, a six-time chief minister. He was known as a detractor of Congress veteran and six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh, according to the sources.

A law graduate, Sukhu’s political journey began at Himachal Pradesh University where he rose through the ranks of the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and later became the president of the student body.

Sukhu won the assembly election for the first time in 2003 from Nadaun in Hamirpur district, retained the seat in 2007 but was defeated in 2012 and won again in 2017 and 2022. In this election, he defeated BJP contender Vijay Kumar by 3,363 votes.

– INDIA NEWS STREAM