Meet Sukhvinder Sukhu, the next Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
Many believe that Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s leadership of party activists and connection with l locals guaranteed a Congress victory in four of five assembly seats in Hamirpur, normally recognised as a BJP stronghold.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was elected as Himachal Pradesh’s 15th chief minister on Saturday, demonstrating his 40-year commitment to the Congress. Since 2003, the 58-year-old has represented the Hamirpur assembly constituency of Nadaun, and he has been a vocal critic and opponent of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. He will take the oath with his deputy and five-time MLA Mukesh Agnihotri on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Sukhu, a known mass leader and a product of student politics, has won his assembly seat in the previous three times. Many believe that his command of party members and connection with local citizens guaranteed the Congress’ victory in four of Hamirpur’s five assembly seats. Previously, this was a BJP stronghold commanded by federal minister Anurag Thakur and his father Prem Kumar Dhumal.
With both the results of the assembly elections this time, the Congress won four seats in Hamirpur and an Independent won one – the state Congress has now started dubbing it “BJP-mukt Hamirpur,” and party officials have attributed this success to Sukhu.
Since the results were announced on December 8, the senior Congress politician, who is considered a close adviser to Rahul Gandhi, has been a frontrunner. Sukhu had publicly denied making a claim with the backing of at least 21 MLAs, but he was observed pushing his weight around after the results and before to the Congress Legislature Party meetings on Friday and Saturday.
Apart from MLA support, he has demonstrated good organisational skills and is from lower Himachal, which has yet to have a chief minister. Sukhu holds a law master’s degree from Himachal Pradesh University, a hotbed of campus politics in northern India. His path began with the National Students Union of India, the Congress’ student wing, where he served as state president for seven years. As a poor student, he even worked as a newspaper agent to augment his money while in college. His wife Kamlesh is a housewife, and the pair has two girls who attend school in Delhi.
According to insiders, his name was often mentioned as a possible CM candidate, but he was opposed by state unit head Pratibha Singh. According to senior Congress leaders, the only other prominent contender was Mukesh Agnihotri, the opposition leader who could not be considered owing to his Pandit caste.
