CM, ministers summoned for meeting in Delhi tomorrow

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 25

Rajeev Shukla, the AICC in-charge for Himachal, has summoned Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, state Congress president Pratibha Singh, ministers and Chief Parliamentary Secretaries to New Delhi for a meeting on December 27. Two MLAs, Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur Assembly constituency and Sudhir Sharma from Dharamsala Assembly constituency have also been asked to attend the meeting.

Move to change state party president?

• There could be a discussion about changing the state party president ahead of the elections next year
• Incumbent president and Member of Parliament from Mandi Pratibha Singh is likely to contest again from the constituency
• Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh and Rajinder Rana, among others, are in contention for the post of state party president if Pratibha Singh relinquishes the post

The meeting has apparently been called to draw up a roadmap for parliamentary elections next year, iron out the occasional rumbling between the party and the government, and placate the grumbling MLAs. “With the high command reposing faith in Shukla by continuing him as AICC in-charge for the state, he wants to prepare a roadmap for the 2024 elections,” said a source.

Besides, there could be a discussion about changing the state party president ahead of the elections next year. The incumbent president and member of Parliament from Mandi Parliamentary Pratibha Singh is likely to contest again from the constituency. She had managed to wrest the seat from the BJP in a by-poll elections in 2021 following the demise of BJP’s MP Ram Swaroop Sharma. The BJP had won all four Parliamentary seats by huge margins in 2019.

According to sources, there are quite a few names including Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh, Rajinder Rana in contention for the post of state party president if Pratibha Singh relinquishes the post. If Anirudh Singh is made the party president, it will give Sukhu an opportunity to have better regional balance in his Cabinet. There are five ministers from the Shimla parliamentary constituency, which leaves the government vulnerable to the charge of regional imbalance. If Anirudh Singh goes out of the Cabinet, the Chief Minister could induct an MLA from the yet unrepresented region in his Cabinet.

As for Rana, the fact that both he and the Chief Minister come from the same Parliamentary constituency (Hamirpur) could turn out to be a stumbling block. Ideally, both the BJP and the Congress try that the individuals occupying the two posts come from different region, preferably from lower Himachal and old Himachal.

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