Wait for Himachal Congress chief goes on; party organisation practically defunct

As the decision on the appointment of a new state Congress president has been delayed inordinately, the absence of party units at the state, district and block levels has virtually left the party defunct, a sentiment echoed by many senior leaders.

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Despite several rounds of talks by the high command with the state leaders, the Congress has failed to arrive at a consensus on the leader to be entrusted the responsibility of the party. Himachal Congress In-charge Rajni Patil, despite holding several rounds of parleys with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, ministers, MLAs and senior party leaders to get feedback, too has failed to forge consensus on the name of the new state party chief.

Amidst this endless wait, the possibility of the present incumbent Pratibha Singh being given another term cannot be ruled out. The reason for Pratibha’s being allowed to continue cannot be dismissed as CM Sukhvinder Sukhu has on several occasions reiterated that he is not averse to her being given another term as she has done good work. Moreover, with BJP giving preference to an experienced and senior leader like Rajeev Bindal as state BJP chief over junior leaders, Congress could give Pratibha yet another term rather than installing someone, not enjoying a stature like hers.

Pratibha, a former MP from Mandi and wife of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh, is a known face because of the political legacy of her husband. Her son and two-time legislator Vikramaditya Singh is the Public Works Minister in the Sukhu Cabinet. “In case Sukhu cannot get his loyalists like MLAs Suresh Kumar or Arki MLA Sanjay Awasthy as the party chief, he would prefer to throw his weight behind Pratibha, rather than have someone else get the top party post,” said a senior leader.

Although, there was a high probability of a leader from the reserved category being handed over the reins of the party but with none of the ministers willing to quit the Cabinet to assume party responsibility, the choice with the Central leadership has narrowed down considerably. Many leaders, including Public Works Minister Virkramaditya Singh, have already said that only a leader with stature and standing in a considerable part of the state should be given the responsibility.

Sources said the party high command is keen to appoint a leader from the reserved category as the president to woo the people from this community. As such the names of Ayurveda Minister Yadvinder Goma, Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar, MLAs Vinod Sultanpuri and Suresh Kumar have been doing the rounds. However, with Goma reluctant to quit his ministerial berth, the choice has narrowed down to Vinay and first-time MLAs Sultanpuri and Suresh.

The name of Theog MLA Kuldeep Rathore, former state Congress president was also learnt to be under consideration, considering his strong organisational background and maturity. His previous stint was impressive as he managed to forge unity and took everyone along, resulting in Congress winning the 2022 Assembly polls.

At one point of time it appeared that the high command had almost finalised the name of Vinay, a third-time MLA from Renuka in Sirmaur district. He even had a meeting with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. However, any announcement in this regard is still awaited by the party cadres who strongly feel that the organisation has become redundant ahead of the panchayati raj elections later this year.