Pratibha Singh is Himachal Congress chief, Mukesh Agnihotri stays CLP leader

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 26

Few months to go for Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress on Tuesday revamped the party organisation appointing Mandi MP Pratibha Singh, the wife of late stalwart Virbhadra Singh, as state unit president, with four working chiefs to assist her.

Four-time MLA Mukesh Agnihotri has been retained as Congress Legislature Party Leader while senior lawmaker Harshvardhan Chauhan will be deputy CLP leader.

Ex-state unit president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has been appointed the state campaign committee chairman with an additional role as AICC screening committee member as and when the candidate selection process for elections begins.

Anand Sharma, the former deputy leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha, will head the steering committee which includes former AICC in-charge Punjab and senior MLA Asha Kumari as convener, Dhani Ram Shandil and outgoing state unit chief Kuldeep Rathore as members. The steering panel has 10 members.

Dhaniram Shandil will chair the manifesto panel while former state chief Kaul Singh Thakur will head the coordination committee.

The election management committee will be chaired by Ram Lal Thakur.

The four Himachal working presidents named by party president Sonia Gandhi are Harsh Mahajan; Rajinder Rana (who had defeated former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal); Pawan Kajal, a senior face from Kangra and Vinay Kumar from Sirmaur.

Caste and regional balance has been kept in mind during the revamp, party sources said.

The Tribune has learnt that the decision to pick Pratibha Singh came after the Congress put a condition on the PCC chief appointee to “not contest the upcoming MLA election”.

The panel of potential PCC chief candidates included Pratibha Singh, Mukesh Agnihotri and Sukhu, with the latter two conveying to the party their intention to contest the upcoming assembly polls.

AICC general secretary organisation KC Venugopal spoke to both Agnihotri and Sukhu to convey the condition to them “of not contesting assembly elections” should they wish to offer themselves to head the state unit. Both said ‘no’.

It is further learnt that the Congress weighed the pros and cons of appointing Pratibha Singh as state president with Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally leading the charge against dynastic politics.

“It was felt that the legacy of the late six-time CM Virbhadra Singh was larger than any other consideration. Also the fact that Pratibha Singh is from Himachal chief minister Jai Ram Thakur’s home segment Mandi helps,” an AICC source said.

The revamped Himachal Congress organisation list also includes Jagat Singh Negi as the chief whip; Rajesh Sharma as treasurer and six vice presidents.

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