Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and all other Congress MLAs are slated to join party leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan on Friday and this is expected to delay the expansion of the state’s new Cabinet.
The MLAs are scheduled to leave Shimla for Delhi on Wednesday. From there, they will travel to Rajasthan.
Sukhu had on Monday said the Cabinet would be expanded in consultation with the Congress high command and it would be a mix of professionals, youth and representatives from all sections.
However, it will be a daunting task as striking a balance between regions, caste and factions is a big challenge.
The Congress has won 40 out of 68 assembly seats, including 10 in Kangra, seven in Shimla, four each in Una, Solan, and Hamirpur, three in Sirmaur, two each in Chamba and Kullu, and one each in Mandi, Bilaspur, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti district. All the regions have to be given adequate representation.
While those who were ministers when the Congress was in power in the state last time around are asserting their rights, a large number of second and third time MLAs too are aspiring for a ministerial berth.
Factions led by Sukhu and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh too are seeking Cabinet posts for their supporters and the party will have to come up with a formula to to reconcile conflicting claims.
The claimant to the Cabinet posts includes former Lok Sabha Member and Minister Dhani Ram Shandil (Solan), former Lok Sabha member Chander Kumar (Jawali), former minister Sudhir Sharma (Jawali), six-time MLA Harshvardhan Chauhan (Shillai), and former Deputy speaker Jagat Singh Negi.
Sunder Singh Thakur (Kullu), Kuldeep Pathania (Bhatiyyat), Rajesh Dharmani (Ghumarwin), Chandershekhar (Dharampur), the lone Congress MLA from Mandi district, Ashish Butail (Palampur), a prominent figure from the business community, and among first timers, Rughubir Singh Bali, son of former minister G S Bali (Nagrota), are also eyeing a Cabinet berth.
Son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and two-time MLA from Shimla (Rural) Vikramaditya Singh is also expected to be accommodated in the Cabinet.
However, this has made the situation peculiar in Shimla district as four-time MLA from Jubbal-Kotkhai Rohit Thakur, grandson of former CM Ram Lal Thakur, three-time MLA from Kasumpti Anirudh Singh, who defeated sitting urban development minister Suresh Bhardwaj, three-time MLA from Rohru, Mohan Lal Brakta, and former state Congress president Kuldeep Rathore are also in the race.
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