Finally, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh expanded his Cabinet inducting 7 faces on Sunday.  Significantly, 3 ministers were picked up from the Shimla district Shimla along with one each from Kangra, Solan, Sirmaur and  Kinnaur.
Let’s see the new inductees at a glance.

1. Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil: The 82 year old Shandil is a 2-time MP and 3-time MLA. An M.A, M.Phil and Ph.D degree holder served in the Armed Forces from 1962-96 and retired as Colonel.
He was elected to 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 as Himachal Vikas Congress Party nominee and re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha in 2004 as Indian National Congress nominee.
He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in December, 2012, remained Social Justice and Empowerment Minister from 25 December, 2012 to 21 December, 2017.
Re-elected to the thirteenth Vidhan Sabha for second term in December, 2017 and re-elected to 14th Legislative Assembly in December, 2022.

2. Vikramaditya Singh: The youngest MLA, Vikramaditya Singh is a Post graduate and son of Pratibha Singh, Member Lok Sabha and late Virbhadra Singh, 6 time CM of Himachal Pradesh. Singh was elected President of Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress from 2013 to 2018.
He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in December 2017 and was nominated as Member Public Undertakings Committee and e-Governance-cum-General Purposes Committees. He was re-elected as an MLA for the second term in the recently held Assembly elections.

3. Chander Kumar: An influential OBC leader, he is the oldest MLA in Himachal Pradesh Assembly. A six-time MLA, he is M. A, M.Ed. and LL.B. He is dedicated to the upliftment of the weaker sections of society and for the redressal of public grievances in far-flung areas of the state.
He took active part in the struggle for statehood. He joined as a trained Graduate teacher in 1968 and resigned from service to take part in active politics.  Kumar contested the election to the state Assembly in 1977 but lost. He was elected to the Assembly in 1982, and 1985. He lost in 1990 but won again in 1993, 1998, and 2003.
He was re-elected to 14th Legislative Assembly last December. Chander Kumar remained Vice-Chairman, of HRTC from 1982 to 1985,  Deputy Minister for Health, Higher Education and Public Relations from April 1984  to March 1985, Minister of State for Forest (independent charge) from March 1985 to 1989, Minister of State  for Agriculture and Art, Language and Culture and  Fisheries (independent charge) from 1989 to 1990 and Cabinet Minister for Irrigation, Public Health, Science and Technology and Technical  Education 1993 to 1998. He also remained a Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2009.

4. Harshwardhan Chauhan: A second-generation leader is the son of Guman Singh Chauhan who represented Shalli in Sirmaur district. He is B.A. LL.B and had remained associated with NSUI since college days. Chauhan was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 1993 and re-elected in 1998, 2003, and 2007. He was re-elected to the thirteenth Vidhan Sabha for fifth term in 2017 and again to the 14th Legislative Assembly recently.

5. Jagat Singh Negi: The son of late Gayan Singh Negi, ex MLA Kinnaur, is BA, LLB. He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 1995 (by-election) and re-elected in 2003 and 2012. Negi remained Parliamentary Secretary from April, 2005 to August, 2005, Chairman Subordinate Legislation Committee from January 2013 to March, 2013  and Deputy Speaker from March, 2013 to December, 2017. He was re-elected to the thirteenth Vidhan Sabha for the fourth term in December, 2017 and nominated as Member, Estimates and General Development Committees. He was also appointed Chief Whip,Congress Legislature Party. He was re-elected to 14th Legislative Assembly in December 2022.

6.Rohit Thakur: Grandson of the former CM Thakur Ram Lal a graduate, entered into active politics of the state at a very young age. He remained a Member of the Pradesh Youth Congress State Executive from 2000 to 2004, HPCC from Jubbal-Kotkhai, 2002 to till date and Secretary of HPCC from 2008 to 2011. Thakur was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 2003  and 2012 and remained Chief Parliamentary Secretary from May 2013 to December 2017. He was re-elected to the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha for the third time in a by-election held in October, 2021 and re-elected in December 2022.

7. Anirudh Singh: A graduate remained Vice-President of State Youth Congress, State General Secretary of Indian Youth Congress, Vice-President of State and Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency PYC, National Coordinator of IYC, Member of Zila Parishad Chamyana of district Shimla twice from 2005 to 2010 and Chairman Zila Parishad Shimla from January, 2011 to January, 2013. He was elected to the twelfth Vidhan Sabha in December 2012. He remained Member of Public Undertakings, Subordinate Legislation and Rule Committees from 2013 to 2017. Singh was re-elected to the thirteenth Vidhan Sabha second term in December, 2017 and was nominated as Member, Public Undertakings, Subordinate Legislation and Rule Committees. He was again recently re-elected to 14th Legislative Assembly.