Himachal Pradesh has given Congress some cheer: Ab kaun banega CM?

The Congress has ousted the BJP in Himachal Pradesh despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch to the public to break the tradition of voting out the incumbent government.

Now, all eyes are on the candidates vying for the top job in the hill state.

From the wife of a former chief minister to the Leader of the Opposition, let’s take a closer look at the front-runners to replace outgoing Chief Minister Jairam Thakur.

Pratibha Singh Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh has thrown her name into the list of contenders.

Pratibha, the MP from Mandi, is not contesting these polls.

If the party picks Pratibha Singh for the post in case of a win, she would need to be elected to the Assembly within six months.

Her husband Virbhadra Singh died last year. Their son Vikramaditya, an  MLA, contested the 12 November polls from Shimla Rural.

Pratibha, the wife of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, said his family and legacy cannot be ignored.  “People in the state want somebody from the Virbhadra family to carry the legacy for the development of the state,” Pratibha said.

Pratibha said issues raised by the Congress such as those pertaining to women, Old Pension Scheme and unemployment struck a chord with voters.

“We are expecting above 40 seats, it can be more than 42, and can go up to 45 and above, I am not exaggerating, it could be less than this but it is clear that we are forming the government. This is the response from the people. I visited the areas and I have seen the response people and what they want that is very clear,” she added.

Pratibha added that the party would keep in mind what the public and majority of MLAs want when deciding who would be chief minister.

“We shall also ask the high command to intervene, I am sure they will see what the people want and what the MLAs want, and ultimately they will decide what they want,” the Congress chief further said.

“Majority of the MLAs and candidates who will win want that Virbhadra Singh’s family should not to be neglected and let the high command take the final call after the results. As far as Congress is concerned we are not a divided house, we are all together, what we all want we will sit and will decide collectively and the decision will be who will lead forward,” she said.

She said that most of the MLAs did not want to neglect the family of Virbhadra Singh and his legacy because he led the Congress in the state many times.

“I have told you that many of them (MLAs) want whether the name of Virbhadra Singh ji, his family, his legacy or his home should not be neglected. It is because of him that Congress led in the state many times and these times also we will win because of his work what he has done, most of the MLAs who would be winning elections the decisions should be taken according to their desires,” said Pratibha.

The Congress chief said that the previous government had ignored the issues of the people but the Congress will work for the development as Virbhadra did.

“If they ask me to come forward, they know that I am a Member of Parliament. It was also in the past that Virbhadra Singh was a Member of Parliament. Congress is very confident as most of the people have recalled that Congress has always worked for development and Virbhadra Singh ji has contributed. People want to pay back to the development of the work of Virbhadra Singh. People have supported the issues of the Old Pension Scheme, Help to the women and also employment, we had assumed that whatever possible and the works will be done, the previous government had ignored the issues of the people,” Pratibha added.

She also said that there is no horse trading in the state and the people of Himachal Pradesh are honest and the people who are elected have faith in the public.

“I don’t know what happened in other states, there is no question of horse trading. The people of Himachal Pradesh are honest and the people who are elected have faith in the public. So far there are no directions from the party to shift anywhere. The observers have been appointed by the party’s high command and they will listen to the winning candidates and decisions will be taken accordingly,” she added.

On Wednesday, she had indicated that “Holly Lodge” – the family’s ancestral home – remained interested in the chief minister’s post if the party won the Assembly election.

Mukesh Agnihotri

Mukesh Agnihotri is among the Congress’ brightest prospects in Himachal Pradesh.

The Leader of the Opposition and former journalist first won his Haroli seat in 2003.

Haroli in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district is a key constituency, particularly for the Congress that has been scoring repeated wins from here despite the BJP’s sway.

Agnihotri, contesting from Haroli for the fifth straight time, is currently in the lead over his BJP rival Ram Kumar.

Agnihotri was appointed leader of Congress Legislature Party in Himachal Pradesh in January 2018 after the party lost power to the BJP in the 2017 Assembly polls.

Agnihotri’s name was proposed by party observers for the post and approved by then Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Interestingly, Agnihotri was also a confidant of the late chief minister Virbadhra Singh – which could potentially put him on a collision course with Pratibha.

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is the former Himachal Pradesh Congress chief.

Sukhu previously served as state chief of the Congress student wing NSUI and president of the youth wing, according to Hindustan Times.

As per Indian Express, the three-time MLA is considered widely acceptable as a candidate among the party cadre.

He has publicly stated that high command would take a call on the post.

Sukhu, who headed the Congress election campaign committee in Himachal, is leading the BJP’s Vijay Kumar Agnihotri in Nadaun constituency by over 3,600 votes.

This is the fourth time Sukhu and Agnihotri are doing battle in Nadaun – a seat seen as crucial for the BJP since it is home district of former BJP chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and his son and Union minister Anurag Thakur.

In the 2017 elections, Sukhu defeated Agnihotri by 2,349 votes, while in 2012, Agnihotri got the better of the Congress leader by more than 6,000 votes.

In 2007, Sukhu defeated Agnihotri by over 500 votes.

Home Minister Amit Shah’s jibe at Sukhu about his chief ministerial candidature was also the talk of the town during the election campaigning.

Shah had indirectly taken a dig at Sukhu’s candidature, saying the Congress was a party of ‘rajas and ranis’ and even though many chief ministerial aspirants were in the fray, no one would actually get a chance.

Top BJP leaders had campaigned for Agnihotri, who also remained steadfast in the area day and night, while Sukhu remained largely absent due to his responsibilities for the campaign.

Voters in Sukhu’s home constituency complained about his absence as he was occupied with party work and participated in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s rallies. He also travelled to other constituencies to support party candidates.

The situation had made Sukhu’s supporters wary as losing the seat would end his prospects for the chief minister’s post, just like former chief minister PK Dhumal, who lost the 2017 polls.

Asha Kumari

Asha Kumari is a six-time Congress MLA.

As per Indian Express, she is known as ‘Asha rani’ in her constituency.

Kumari, who is from the erstwhile royal family of Chamba, is the niece of Virbhadra Singh.

The former Congress in-charge of Punjab and ex-minister is among the tallest leaders in the district.

Though she remains in contention, her hopes have been dashed by her defeat to DS Thakur in Dalhousie.

Kumari was first elected to office in 1985 and was re-elected in 1993, 1998, 2003, 2012 and 2017.

In 2012, Kumari had defeated her BJP rival Renu Chadda with a margin of 7,365 but in 2017, her victory margin against Thakur reduced to 556.

Kaul Singh Thakur

Kaul Singh Thakur is a senior Congress leader and eight-time MLA.

As per Outlook, Thakur previously served as Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board (with Cabinet rank).

While Thakur and his daughter Champa both fought the elections from Darang and Mandi Sadar respectively, both of them went down to defeat at the hands of the BJP’s Puran Chand Thakur and BJP’s Anil Sharma, son of Pandit Sukh Ram.

 With inputs from agencies

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