HP Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar picked state Cong president

Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha Vinay Kumar was appointed president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee today. He replaces Pratibha Singh, whose tenure has already ended.

Ahead of the appointment made by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Kumar, a three-time Renuka MLA, tendered his resignation from the Deputy Speaker’s post. Speaker Kuldeep Pathania has accepted his resignation, it is learnt.

Kumar’s father Prem Singh was also a six-time MLA from Renuka. He belongs to the reserved category and as such the party high command has tried to woo a major vote bank of the Dalits, who constitute more than 25 per cent of the state population.

Both the high command as well as Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh were keen on appointing a Dalit leader as the state party chief.

Earlier this month, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had interviewed six leaders — Vinay Kumar; Education Minsiter Rohit Thakur; Theog MLA and former Congress president Kuldeep Rathore; Bhoranj MLA Suresh Kumar; Palampur MLA Ashish Butail; and Kasauli MLA Vinod Sultanpuri — for the top party post in the state.

The Congress organisation had been lying defunct since November 6 when all state, district and block units, and frontal organisations were dissolved. With Kumar’s appointment, the party organisation is likely to be revamped.