Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Saturday that the next chief minister of Himachal Pradesh will be Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, and the new deputy chief minister will be Mukesh Agnihotri. The oath ceremony will take place tomorrow.
Reacting to the announcement, the future chief minister of the state said that he will be working with the deputy chief minister as a team. "Mukesh Agnihotri, the Deputy Chief Minister-designate, and I will collaborate. I began my political career when I was 17 years old. I will never forget what the Congress party has done for me," Sukhu was quoted as saying by ANI.
Sukhu is the four-time incumbent MLA of Himachal Pradesh's Nadaun assembly constituency. From 2013 to 2019, he was the president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee.
Sukhu further added that he is grateful to the party's high command and that it is his responsibility to fulfill the promises made by the party.
The decision came a day after newly elected Congress MLAs endorsed a resolution authorising the Congress high leadership to choose the legislature party's next leader.
Aside from Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who headed the Congress campaign committee during the assembly election, Mandi MP and state party president Pratibha Singh and outgoing assembly Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri were the frontrunners for the chief ministership.
Pratibha Singh supporters and the Sukhu camp staged a show of force in front of party observers at Rajeev Bhawan, the Congress headquarters, on Friday night.
(With Inputs From Agencies)