Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu takes oath as Himachal Chief Minister

Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu took oath as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
Senior leader and former leader of the Opposition, Mukesh Agnihotri, took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.
Governor RV Arlekar administered the oath of office to them at a function organized at the Ridge Maidan in Shimla in presence of many patry functionaries. They include party national President Mallikarjun Kharge, former president, Rahul Gandhi, and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.
A four-time MLA, Sukhu, 58, is a former chief of Congress in the state and has been part of NSUI and Youth Congress.
He is a grassroots politician who has risen from the ranks and has wide organizational experience in the hill state.
He was the party’s state unit president from 2013 to 2019 and spoke his mind even if it was not to the liking of the party’s tall leader Virbhadra Singh, a six-time Chief Minister.
Sukhu has been in favour of promoting and grooming younger Congress leaders in Himachal Pradesh. Affable and approachable, Sukhu has a wide network in the hill state due to his long years in the organisation.
He is a loyalist of the Gandhis, Sukhu belongs to a middle-class family. He was active in politics from his student days and fought elections as an NSUI candidate. He was president of NSUI and the Indian Youth Congress in the state.
He has become the second chief minister from Hamirpur district after BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal. Congress won the assembly polls in the state and got 40 seats.
Sukhu said that he is happy that despite being from an ordinary family he will be the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
The party’s choice of Sukhu was, however, seen as a major setback to Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh, who had openly raised slogans demanding that she should be made the Chief Minister.
On being asked about Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh’s discontentment, Sukhu had said that there was no such discontentment.