New Delhi: Former Congress state chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday took oath as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing Assembly took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister. Sukhu expressed his gratitude towards the Congress and the Gandhi family and said that he is thankful for this opportunity.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and the party’s general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present during the oath-taking ceremony along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony Kharge said, this is a victory that belongs to the people of Himachal Pradesh. This is an example of what emerges when the Congress party fights unitedly: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at Shimla.
#WATCH | Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu takes oath as Himachal Pradesh CM, in presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in Shimla pic.twitter.com/WQDWtKfQyR
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2022
Sukhu said that he is happy that despite being from an ordinary family he will be the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. “I am happy that I am going to be CM despite being from an ordinary family. I am thankful to the Congress party and the Gandhi family for giving me this opportunity. My mother never stopped me from being in politics. I have reached here today because of her blessings,” said Sukhu.
Sukhu is a grassroots politician who has risen from the ranks and has wide organisational experience in the hill state.
A four-time MLA, Sukhu, 58, is a former chief of Congress in the state and has been part of NSUI and Youth Congress. He was the party’s state unit president from 2013 to 2019 and spoke his mind even if it was not to the liking of the party’s tall leader Virbhadra Singh, a six-time Chief Minister.
Sukhu has been in favour of promoting and grooming younger Congress leaders in Himachal Pradesh. Affable and approachable, Sukhu has a wide network in the hill state due to his long years in the organisation. Sukhu will be the first Congress leader from “lower Himachal” to come to the top post. That Hamirpur is represented in parliament by Union Minister Anurag Thakur might also have weighed on the Congress’s high command as they decided to give the mantle to Sukhu.
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 an old pension scheme. He will be the second chief minister from Hamirpur district after BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal. Congress won the Assembly polls in the state, winning 40 seats.
(With ANI Inputs)
