After the announcement of results on Thursday, the Congress will hold a meeting of all newly-elected MLAs in Himachal Pradesh in Chandigarh, and the conference is expected to approve a resolution authorizing the Congress president to designate the CLP leader, news agency PTI reported.
As polls indicated a comfortable victory for the grand old party in Himachal Pradesh, Shukla said the party was delighted to be given the opportunity to form the state's government and pledged that the party would do everything possible to fulfil the ten promises made to the people of the state and provide better governance.
Speaking with PTI, Shukla stated: "The newly-elected Congress MLAs would meet in Chandigarh post-election results and decide on electing the new legislature party leader."
"It is a very emotional moment for me as I can see the same kind of support from people as it was for late Virbhadra Singh. Chandigarh is easily accessible meeting point for MLAs & we are not worried about poaching," Pratibha V Singh told ANI.
According to sources, the MLAs would likely adopt a one-line resolution authorising the Congress president to choose the CLP leader. They said that this was the Congress party's custom, PTI reported.
"The party is sending two observers --Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior leader Bhupinder Hooda-- along with me. We will be travelling in some time to Chandigarh today where all the party MLAs have been called," Shukla said.
"The election result trends are a happy thing for us and we are heading towards getting around 40 seats. We are confident that we are getting an opportunity to get power in Himachal," he informed reporters.
The party will fulfil the ten promises it has made to the people of the state and provide good governance to the people of the state, as it has done for the previous six terms when Virbhadra Singh was chief minister, he said, adding that the people are looking forward because they are tired of the BJP's governance.
Shukla had already stated that he, Baghel, and Hooda will fly to Himachal Pradesh.
"The results are still coming in ... it is a victory of the people. With the blessings of God, if Congress wins, we will do everything possible for the interest of the people of Himachal Pradesh. Priyanka ji (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) campaigned a lot, she worked really hard," he told reporters.
Shukla stated that Priyanka Gandhi took charge of the campaign and performed an excellent job.
He also congratulated Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, past Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and organisation General Secretary K C Venugopal for their assistance in electoral preparations.
He said that Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra had an indirect influence on the polls and among the people.
While Shukla is the AICC's representative in Himachal Pradesh, Baghel has been designated as a senior observer for the elections.
(With Inputs From Agencies)