Three weeks in office, HP govt runs without cabinet

Murmurs have started in the Congress circles as the party's new government in Himachal Pradesh remains without a council of ministers even three weeks after Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was sworn in as the state's chief minister along with deputy CM, Mukesh Agnihotri.

While negotiations have been on between the chief minister, the high command representatives, and the state Congress leaders, hectic lobbying for ministerial slots and delicate factional equations are reportedly proving to be speed breakers, but the All India Congress Committee (AICC) maintained that the ministerial team would take oath after the three-day Assembly session of the Himachal Legislative Assembly, which starts in Dharamsala on Wednesday.

The party leadership attributed the delay in ministry formation in part to Sukhu testing positive for Covid-19 and the resultant postponement in the scheduled Assembly session by some weeks.


AICC in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, Rajiv Shukla told ET, "There are absolutely no issues. The Cabinet team in Himachal Pradesh will be finalised soon after the three-day session of the State legislative Assembly, which is starting on Wednesday. The discussions are on."

The CM is likely to hold another round of talks with the AICC representatives, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, to finalise his ministerial team. They have to ensure an amicable deal among many ministerial aspirants for the available 10 ministerial berths, as at least four groups - those owing allegiance to the CM, PCC chief Pratibha Singh, Dy CM Agnihotri, and the high command loyalists - are lobbying hard for the ministerial perches. While Himachal Pradesh is entitled to have a 12-member council of ministers, there are indications that Sukhu may not fill up all the slots in one go - so that he can make use of the available vacancies for future manoeuvring. However, the delay in forming the ministerial team is also making some party loyalists uneasy, as they are also apprehensive of BJP's eagle eye.

During the Assembly session, the first since the election outcome, the MLAs will take oath and will elect a senior Congress MLA as the Speaker.