Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu’s name approved as next CM of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh new Chief Minister: In a major development in the race for chief minister’s post in Himachal Pradesh, Congress high command has reportedly approved the name of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu as the next CM. His name has been announced after discussing it with other leaders, an ANI report said. 

Earlier in the afternoon, it was reported that state Congress president Pratibha Singh was out of the race to be Chief Minister. Another Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting is expected to be held on Saturday evening, after which the CM name will be declared. 

Since Thursday, the day when the election results were declared, the Congress party was in a dilemma as senior party members could not take a call on the next chief minister in the state. The Congress party bagged 40 seats in the hill state in the 68-seat Assembly defeating BJP. After hours of meeting on Friday, it was decided that the party high commission will pick the next CM of the state.

Rajeev Shuka, AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh, who was there in the meeting in Shimla, said the one-line resolution was passed unanimously and the party’s observers would submit their report to its high command on Saturday, who will further take a call on the next CM. 
On Friday, December 9, Congress observers met Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and shared a list of the party’s winning MLAs, and sought time to formally stake claim to form the government.

So far, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh was the strongest contender of the seat. On Friday, she reportedly said she can lead the state as the Chief Minister if the party high commission wants her to do that. She said that since Sonia Gandhi and the High Command gave her the responsibility to lead the party ahead of the elections, she can lead the state. "It won't be right to sideline Virbhadra Singh's family when the election was fought and won in the name of Virbhadra Singh. We won 40 seats only because people have a strong emotional connect with Virbhadra Singh."  
Others in the race are former state unit president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly Mukesh Agnihotri.