Congress' Sukhvinder Sukhu to be next Himachal CM, Mukesh Agnihotri to be Dy CM

Shimla, December 10: Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will be the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh while Mukesh Agnihotri will be the Deputy Chief Minister. The announcement was made on Saturday evening after the meeting of the Congress Legislative Party. 

The announcement comes two days of intense lobbying and speculation. Leader of the Opposition in outgoing Assembly Mukesh Agnihotri was also considered in contention for the top post. But he will now serve as  the Deputy CM of Himachal Pradesh.

A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party took place in Shimla where the decision of the Congress high command was announced.

Earlier, amid the buzz over the next Himachal Pradesh chief ministerial, Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu  said the party had been carrying forward former CM Virbhadra Singh's legacy.

"We are all carrying forward his (former Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh) legacy. The Congress party is moving forward by ensuring harmony among all the people. We are all representing the Congress party," Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu added.

Sukhvinder Sukhu served as the president of the state Youth Congress from 1998 to 2008. He was appointed the president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee in 2013. He representing the Nadaun assembly constituency and was preceded by Vijay Agnihotri in 2017.