Sukhu sworn in as Himachal’s 15th CM; Kharge, Rahul, Priyanka attend

Shimla: Four-time MLA and 58-year-old Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu was sworn in as the 15th chief minister of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday. Prominent party leaders like Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Rahul Gandhi attended his oath-taking ceremony in Shimla.
Sukhu was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at a ceremony under the open sky at the historic Ridge ground. Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister.
Chief Ministers of other Congress-ruled states like Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot were also present. Former Union minister Anand Sharma, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajeev Shukla and senior leader Sachin Pilot were also present.
Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh, whose name was also doing rounds as the possible CM-elect, was also present during the ceremony. However, after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Shimla on Saturday, Congress’s central observer Bhupesh Baghel announced the election of Sukhu as the CLP leader.
In a meeting Friday evening, the MLAs had unanimously passed a resolution authorising the party president to pick the legislature party leader after the three leaders reached the venue with their supports that raised slogan in their favour.
Sukhu and his rise through the ranks: Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is the son of a road transport corporation driver. He had a modest beginning and used to run a milk counter at Chhota Shimla in his early days. Rising through the ranks, Sukhu was a relentless fighter and remained the party’s state unit president for a record six years from 2013 to 2019 despite being frequently at loggerheads with Virbhadra Singh, a six-time chief minister.
Sukhu is the first Congress leader from Lower Himachal — comprising areas merged in Himachal in 1966 such as Nalagarh, Una, Hamirpur, Kangra and lower hills of Kullu — to occupy the top post. He is the second chief minister from Hamirpur district, after BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal.