Himachal polls: Pratibha, Sukhu and Agnihotri in CM race

The triumphant Congress will hold a meeting of its elected MLAs on Friday where it will try to finalise its chief ministerial candidate and stake claim before the governor to form the government.

The faction-ridden Congress has many senior leaders aspiring for the CM's post, especially since this is the first election victory since the death of the undisputed state Congress leader and six-term former CM Virbhadra Singh.

Among the leading contenders are Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pratibha Singh, wife of Virbhadra Singh, outgoing Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Mukesh Agnihotri and senior state Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. Two other known CM aspirants, Asha Kumari and Kaul Singh Thakur, lost their respective seats, even as some others are hoping to emerge as a compromise CM nominee.


Pratibha Singh subtly positioned herself by telling journalists that the Congress victory was also a people's vote for her late husband's legacy. While maintaining that there will be no tussle for the leadership and that MLAs will go by the high command's decision, she said her late husband "might not be there physically" but people had voted seeing his legacy, his family members and posters of the former CM. "The sole objective of Virbhadra was to ensure all-round development of Himachal and people have put their stamp of approval on his works in this election," she said.

Her son Vikramaditya Singh is also a player and has already indicated his mother's claim.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Rajiv Shukla and AICC observers Bhupesh Baghel and Bhupinder Singh Hooda will attend Friday's CLP meeting. "The Himachal CLP meeting (of the newly elected Congress MLAs) will be held at Shimla on Friday. The party will also meet the governor and stake claim on the same day," Hooda told ET, adding that the leader of the CLP will be elected through wider consultations among the MLAs and with the Congress central leadership. As of Thursday evening, Congress leaders ruled out any plan to shift the elected MLAs out of the state.