SHIMLA: After a high voltage drama of lobbying, Chief Minister-designate Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is set to take over the command of Himachal Pradesh. National Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, national leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyank Gandhi have reached Shimla to take part in the swearing-in ceremony at The Ridge in Shimla.
Chief Minister-designate would take oath at historic The Ridge here on Sunday around 1:30 PM.
Dedicating his win to the people of Himachal, CM-designate has invited all to take part in the swearing-in ceremony on The Ridge through social media.
A team of central observers including Chief Minister Chhattisgarh and Observer AICC Bhupesh Baghel, Former Chief Minister Haryana and Observer AICC Bhupinder Singh Hooda, MP Rajya Sabha and Incharge of HP Congress Rajeev Shukla, MP Lok Sabha and State Congress President Pratibha Singh, Observer Tajender Bittu and Senior Congress leader Mukesh Agnihotri were present on the occasion.
They handed over a formal letter to the Governor staking claim to form a new government in Himachal Pradesh.
Without losing golden time, Congress party high command acted swiftly after the 40 elected Congress MLAs gave their nod to the party high command to take a call on CM-designate. 
The three contenders for the top post- PCC President Pratibha Singh, Sukhu and Mukesh Agnihotri- told media persons that they would abide by the Congress high command.
After the demise of Virbhadra Singh, "Holy Lodge", his residence, which was centre of Congress power, did not enjoy the "bargaining power". Nor did Pratibha Singh enjoy the support of "key players" of Congress, who influence and guide the Party High Command- "Gandhis"- this time, reveal insiders.
Second, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who has embarked on the Bharat Jodo Andolan in the country is also attracting aam aadmi into party fold.
Congress has been attacked by BJP over its dynastic politics and promoting "royals on powerful top posts", though it is another matter BJP is also doing the same thing in many cases.
Sukhu came as an obvious choice. Sukhu shrewdly has been cultivating cordial ties with party high command and key players including Rajeev Shukla, Bhupendra Baghel including Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi, Randeep Surjewala including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi over the years.
Because of his mass base and popularity, Virbhadra Singh, in his heyday dictated terms to the Party High command as per his will and ran the state at his own term for long 22 years as Chief Minister.
But Sukhu worked as per their will and even took on Virbhadra Singh during his term in 2012-17 when he was President", revealed the sources.
Suku also paid a visit to Holy Lodge and met PCC chief Pratibha Singh and went to meet Congress veteran Vidya Stokes at her residence at Bhumia.
As a result, Pratibha Singh lagged behind in race as she lacks support. The party can ill-afford to ignore the Virbhadra Singh's legacy and his present scion Vikramaditya Singh in Himachal.
Moreover, party high command may have other things for her and her son Vikramaditya Singh, two times MLA from Shimla rural.
Congress observers also faced tough time on Saturday. The supporters of Pratibha Singh raised slogans in her support in the Vidhan sabha premises where meeting of Congress MLAs was on.
While those of Sukhu raised slogans in front of the Cecil hotel, where observes were camped and hold meeting.
Sukhu faces a bed full of thorns and challenges ahead. He faces challenges to implement 10 guarantees of Congress manifesto.
Toughest is perhaps “how he chooses his team and think tank", cutting across region and caste and NSUI mindset”, a team which work as the "servants of public" rather than "amasser of name, fame and fortune”.
Sukhu also faces tough task of keeping all groups in good humour in the coming days. Much of the success of his brash new innings will depend upon the “team in the CM office” who make right decisions at the right time”, comment his well-wishers.
Sukhu had supported the apple farmers' stir this year and assured them all support for the 20 point agenda which remained dumped with the outgoing Jai Ram Thakur's government.
Sukhu has inherited a huge outstanding financial liability of whopping Rs 75,000 crore debt. How he will manage this financial mess and lobby with the Prime Minister to get share/aid and support for this and implement the 10 guarantees and keep the fund starved state going.
For one thing, with Sukhu as new CM, while Mukesh Agnihotri as the deputy CM, Congress has concentrated “power centre” in Hamirpur Lok Sabha.
But then Congress might be giving chance to the younger leaders representing Rajput and Brahmins, but Congress support base is Dalits as well, warn insiders.
The Congress might give tribal, caste and regional representation in the ministries to be officially announced today.
There are workers who say that Congress has cold-shouldered Kangra and Shimla districts, where Congress has won 17 seats, almost half of a number needed to form the government in Himachal Pradesh.
Congress has won just seven seats in Hamirpur and Una, one seat in Bilaspur, all in Hamirpur Lok Sabha, which has been represented by Dhumal earlier and now by his son Anurag Singh Thakur.
They warn that Congress high command should not fall into the “BJP trap laid down” by Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal. Dhumal wished to see his son Anurag Singh as Chief Minister and Hamirpur as the only “power centre of Himachal Pradesh politics”, regardless whether it is BJP or Congress in power in the state, reveal analysts.
As of now, there is ‘no’ Congress candidate who can take on Anurag Singh Thakur in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
What prompted high command to declare Sukhu as CM is the fact that he has risen from his humble background and never ever defied high command.
Sukhu espouses “aspirations of the Aam karyakarta of Himachal Pradesh that can motivate youth who are committed to public service to join Congress.
Right from his students politics, Sukhu was on the centre-stage in Shimla and worked for the party as a social worker. He created a niche for himself. He did not get it on a platter.
In later years, Sukhu and his group worked meticulously in Hamirpur and opposed Virbhadra Singh when he was State Party president and Virbhadra was Chief Minister in 2012-17.
Opponents of Sukhu say he had never attacked Anurag Singh Thakur and Dhumal in rallies as they “live a convivial political relation” in Hamirpur.
Virbhadra Singh, on the other, had promoted Rajinder Singh Rana, a chela of Prof Dhumal and managed to trounce him in Sujanpur (Hamirpur district) in 2017 that eclipsed his political fortune perhaps for ever.
Like Prem Kumar Dhumal, Virbhadra Singh was also enamoured by ‘Putramoh’ for his son Vikramaditya Singh who has also cultivated a support base in the state learning and inheriting stayte craft from his father, Virbhadra Singh.
Virbhadra Singh never allowed anyone to nurture the second line of leadership in the Congress due to his putramoh, comment his opponents.
Virbhadra Singh decimated the then "CM-hopefuls- Sukh Ram, Kaul Singh Thakur(Mandi), Major Vijay Singh Mankotia and GS Bali in Kangra".
With Sukhu as new CM, Hamirpur has once again become an epicenter of power politics in Himachal Pradesh. It was so during Dhumal’s heydays. Now Sukhu has made it power centre of Congress.
It would be for the first time that a Congress MLA from a nondescript Nadaun constituency of Hamirpur district, who never been an MP, who never had any administrative experience of running the ministry, would be the next Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
By dint of his “hard work, shrewd moves and balanced approach”, Sukhu managed to cultivate sound relation with the Congress key players and “Gandhis”.
Soon after election results were out, Sukhu called most of the elected MLAs to support him and flagged pictures of MLAs meeting him on social media, playing up “his popularity and support for himself”.
Sukhu told media in Shimla today that it was for the first time that it took no time for the elected MLAs to leave the decision of the CLP Leader and CM candidate to the Congress high command.
Sukhu was confident that his rivals- Pratibha Singh and Mukesh Agnihotri, who was made leader of opposition by Virbhadra Singh in 2017- had “no solid backup to support them with the High Command”, revealed insiders.
By declaring non- royal Sukhu as Chief-Minister elect, Congress is eyeing some gains in Lower Himachal and among the majority vote bank of Rajput community in the state as a whole.
Congress made Pratibha Singh, Mandi Lok Sabha MP as party president to cash in on the legacy of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh.
It was Pratibha Singh and Virbhadra Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh who were instrumental in wresting the Mandi Lok Sabha seat from BJP in 2021 by-election.
This win along with the win of three assembly by-elections for Congress in Kangra and Shimla, were a major game changer that bolstered political prospectus of Congress in the state.
Despite the fact that Hamirpur district has just five seats. But the seeds of power sown by the two-time Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have sprouted into two “opposing power politics centres by a convivial game of power”.
It was by “accident” that Jai Ram Thakur, now six-time MLA from Seraj, became Chief Minister after Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal lost the elections in 2017.
Dhumal may be “out” from electoral politics. But his role was reflected in this elections as BJP had given weight to BJP Chief JP Nadda and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
This, in turn, irked supporters of Dhumal mainly in Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, revealed insiders.
No doubt the voters in Mandi rallied behind Jai Ram Thakur, where BJP won nine seats out of 10.
But then During his tenure, Jai Ram Thakur could not make his presence felt elsewhere in Himachal as he could not come out from his “ABVP mind-set” to cultivate a think tank that surpasses boundaries and narrow walls”.
Jai Ram Thakur's CM Office became a hotbed of "ABVP and RSS power centres". There were also embarrassing moments when the notification was issued in the morning and by evening it would be withdrawn, commented Congress opponents.
Jai Ram Thakur when BJP decided to pitch in him for the 2022 elections, tried his best to make Mandi a power centre for himself sidelining Dhumal's supporters and kept Sukh Ram group in good humour and embraced them including Anil Sharma at the fag-end of his term.
But It was Modi magic that actually worked for BJP in Mandi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed over four rallies in Mandi and Sundernagar and created pro-BJP mood in Mandi district.
The voters were influenced by Modi magic and rallied behind Jai Ram Thakur as the second time CM. But he was not choice of people in Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Shimla, Kullu, Solan and tribal districts.
Congress stormed back to power as the voters kept their Rivaaj alive and kicking. Now Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in in thick of action".
Later in the evening, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu called on the outgoing Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur at CM residence at Oakover.
