Himachal Pradesh Congress appoints ex-CM's wife Pratibha Virbhadra Singh as state chief

In the latest development in the upcoming assembly election of Himachal Pradesh, Congress appointed Pratibha Virbhadra Singh as the new President of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, replacing Kuldeep Rathore. 

Congress President Sonia Gandhi also appointed former Union Minister Anand Sharma as the chairman of the Steering Committee for the Himachal Pradesh Congress, with Asha Kumari as its convenor, while former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was appointed as the Chairman of the Campaign Committee.

Mukesh Agnihotri has been retained as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly.

The changes initiated by the party come ahead of the Assembly polls in the state due later this year.

Pratibha Virbhadra Singh is the wife of the former Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh. Late Virbhadra Singh was the most influential leader of the Congress in Himachal Pradesh since 1983. 

Himachal Assembly Elections

The political outreach of parties including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun to gain traction in Himachal Pradesh ahead of the state's Assembly elections, which are scheduled to take place later this year. 

The Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal conducted a rally in Kangra's Shahpur on Saturday, a day after BJP national president J.P. Nadda staged a roadshow in the state's politically pivotal Kangra district. Members of the Congress party also organised a 'foot-march' in the district's Harchakian town, escalating the intensity of electioneering in the state.

While CM Kejriwal sought votes in Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections by pledging an honest administration, Congress members led by senior party leader and general secretary Kewal Singh Pathania staged a protest against growing inflation and unemployment. 

Arvind Kejriwal, speaking at a rally in Shahpur, Kangra district, lambasted both the Congress and the BJP for failing to perform despite being given multiple opportunities to lead the state over the years. A day before the AAP rally in Shahpur, BJP national president J.P. Nadda had addressed a gathering at Nagrota Bagwan of Kangra after holding a roadshow in the town as a  measure to step up the party’s election campaign in the upcoming Himachal Assembly polls.

Image: Twitter@virbhadrasingh