Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu sworn in as the next chief minister of Himachal Pradesh today.
Former opposition leader Mukesh Agnihotri also took the oath of office as Himachal Pradesh’s deputy chief minister.
Governor RV Arlekar gave them the oath of office at a ceremonial event being held in Shimla’s Ridge Maidan on Sunday.
Top officials of the Congress party, including President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, were present for the swearing-in ceremony of the new administration in Himachal Pradesh.
Sukhu, 58, a four-time MLA, is a former state Congress president, a member of the NSUI, and the Youth Congress.
He is a grassroots politician with extensive organisational expertise in the hill state who has climbed through the ranks.
From 2013 until 2019, he served as the state unit president of the party. From that time till now, he has served as the party’s top leader and six-time chief minister, Virbhadra Singh.
Sukhu has advocated for developing and elevating new Congress leaders in Himachal Pradesh. Due to his many years of service to the organisation, Sukhu is affable and approachable and has a large network throughout the hill state.
Sukhu is from a middle-class household and is a devoted member of the Gandhi family. He got involved in politics while still a student and ran for office as an NSUI candidate. He served as the state’s NSUI and Indian Youth Congress president.
Elections for the Shimla Municipal Corporation were fought and won by him. In the 2003 assembly elections, Sukhu defeated Nadaun for the first time.
After Prem Kumar Dhumal of the BJP, he is now the second chief minister to emerge from the Hamirpur district. The state’s assembly elections were won by Congress, who received 40 members.
Earlier on Saturday, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu expressed his gratitude to the Gandhi family and the Congress for giving him the position of Chief Minister.
