Sukhu rushes to Delhi, new state Congress president may be announced

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu rushed to New Delhi today, triggering speculation that the announcement of the new Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president could be around the corner.

Incidentally, Education Minister Rohit Thakur and AICC spokesperson Kuldeep Rathore, two contenders for the post, reached Shimla today after meeting senior party leaders in New Delhi.

A few names have been discussed for the post over the past four or five months. After much lobbying and deliberations, Rohit Thakur and Rathore seem to be the only serious candidates for the post now. In all probability, either of the two is likely to get the responsibility to run the party in the state. The other candidates appear to have fallen behind in the race with almost every senior party leader demanding a strong and effective individual at the helm.

Even though Rathore didn’t look interested in becoming the party president in the beginning, he has emerged as a strong contender at the fag end of the race. He had been the party president from 2019 to 2022. Under him, the Congress won four by-elections at a time when the BJP was in power in the state as well as the Centre. Known as a straight-forward leader, Rathore is also credited with discouraging factionalism in the party and taking everyone along.

On the other hand, Thakur has made it clear on several occasions that he is ready to take the responsibility if asked by the party high command. In his role as the Education Minister, Thakur has shown that he can deliver results. The state’s education standard has seen significant improvement in national-level surveys. Besides, he has shown that he can take tough and unpopular decisions, if required, by closing or merging over 1,350 educational institutions having low enrolment.

The only candidate, who still has an outside chance to beat these two in the race is Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar.