Pratibha Singh, Sukhwinder Sukhu, Mukesh Agnihotri: All About Frontrunners For CM Race Himachal

Pratibha Singh is being considered a key frontrunner, closely followed by former party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and outgoing CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri.

New Delhi: With Congress wins Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, the next race is now for the Chief Minister with state party president Pratibha Singh being considered a key frontrunner, closely followed by former party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and outgoing Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri.

Deciding on the chief ministerial face who can bind the party going forward is the immediate challenge for the Congress.

The newly-elected MLAs would meet soon to decide on their leader.

Pratibha Singh 

Wife of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Pratibha Singh led the party to the victory as Pradesh Congress Committee chief. Although she did not contest the Assembly polls and is not an MLA, but had extensively campaigned across the state and has the support of a majority of MLAs who have owed their allegiance to Virbhadra Singh, who remained the Congress' undisputed leader in the hill state for long.

Singh is presently an MP from Mandi after she won in the bye-election from outgoing chief minister Jairam Thakur's home district.

She also carries the legacy of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who steered the Congress in the state for over four decades.

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu 

Former Pradesh Congress Committee chief of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is in close contest with Pratibha Singh for the post of Chief Minister. An MLA from Nadaun, he won from the same seat this time with a vote margin of 3,363. Sukhu hails from the dominant Thakur community in the state. 

Mukesh Agnihotri

Leader of opposition in Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Agnihotri is a Brahmin leader who was elected from Haroli seat. He won from Haroli by a vote margin of 9,148.

Agnihotri put forth the party's position strongly in the state assembly as CLP leader in the state assembly and opposed its decisions and highlighted BJP's "misgovernance" during the last five years. 

Vikramaditya Singh 

Son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya has been elected as an MLA from Shimla rural. He won by an impressive margin of 13,860 from the same seat in the recenlty concluded Himachal Assembly polls. 

A graduate from Delhi University’s Hansraj College, Vikramaditya Singh joined the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) in 2013 and served as the president of the State Youth Congress Committee.