Infighting in Congress over Himachal CM post? 3 key leaders stake claim, say sources

After winning the Himachal polls, the race for the CM post in the Congress party has narrowed down to three candidates, sources told Republic TV on Friday. As per sources, Pratibha Singh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Mukesh Agnihotri have staked claim to the post. While Singh is the HP Congress president and the wife of the late Virbhadra Singh, who served as the CM of the state for 6 terms, Sukhu served as the campaign committee chairman for the Assembly election. On the other hand, Agnihotri is the outgoing CLP leader and the Leader of Opposition. 

Sources revealed that Sukhu and Agnihotri met observers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel in Chandigarh to stake their claim. Moreover, Pratibha Singh has also made it clear that the CM should be from her husband's family. It is worth noting that her son Vikramaditya Singh won from the Shimla Rural seat. All three leaders are likely to show the support of MLAs during a crucial meeting in Shimla today. AICC HP in-charge, Rajiv Shukla, Baghel and Hooda will be reaching Shimla by the afternoon for this meeting. 

Congress wrests Himachal Pradesh 

In line with its tradition of changing governments after every term since 1985, Himachal witnessed Congress wresting power from BJP. The state recorded its highest-ever vote share of 75.6% in the Assembly elections held on November 12. This increased hopes in the Congress camp considering that it also won the by-election to the Assembly seats of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai and the Lok Sabha constituency of Mandi last year. The fact that AAP also didn't up a spirited campaign implied that the election turned out to be a bipolar contest between BJP and Congress.

Despite former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's absence from the campaign, the party managed to win a clear majority by bagging 40 out of 68 seats. On the other hand, BJP was reduced to a mere 25 seats even as CM Jairam Thakur won from Seraj by 38,183 votes- the highest victory margin for any candidate. Interestingly, the vote share difference between Congress and BJP was only 0.90%. While AAP couldn't open its account, 3 Independents registered a victory. The major upsets included the defeat of 8 Ministers and 6-time Congress MLA Asha Kumari. 

After the trends showed a clear mandate for Congress, Thakur conceded defeat. Speaking to the media, he said, "I respect people's mandate and I want to thank PM and other central leadership during the last 5 yrs. We will stand for the development of the state irrespective of politics. We'll analyze our shortcomings and improve during the next term". Subsequently, he tendered his resignation to Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.