Discussions on Himachal Pradesh cabinet in Congress; ex-CM’s son to get chance: Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

SHIMLA: With Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu taking over as the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh and Mukesh Agnihotri as his deputy, the senior leadership of Congress has started holding discussions to decide on cabinet formation.

Lobbying for cabinet berths is already under way. Senior MLAs and even some first-timers are vying for cabinet posts.
According to sources, after the oath-taking ceremony, a high-level meeting of the Congress was held in Shimla, where chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu along with central observers and other senior leaders of the state discussed cabinet formation, as regional balance and caste equations also need to be addressed.
There are many probables for cabinet berths, including Harshwardhan Chauhan from Sirmaur district, Chander Kumar, Sudhir Sharma, Sanjay Rattan and Ashish Butail from Kangra district, Chander Shekhar from Mandi district, Sunder Singh Thakur from Kullu district, Rohit Thakur, Vikramaditya Singh and Anirudh Singh from Shimla district, Jagat Singh Negi from Kinnaur district, and Dhani Ram Shandil from Solan district. Shekhar is the lone Congress MLA from Mandi.
Considering the fact that state Congress president Pratibha Singh was not considered for the post of chief minister, her MLA son Vikramaditya Singh, who has won for the second time from Shimla Rural seat, is set to be inducted into the cabinet. Sukhu, before taking oath on Sunday, had met Pratibha Singh at her Shimla residence, Holly Lodge. While responding to a question from the media, he had said Vikramaditya would surely be in his cabinet.

Himachal Pradesh assembly has a strength of 68 members. In the cabinet, only 12 members, including the CM, are inducted. Wth Agnihotri being the deputy CM, only 10 berths of cabinet are available. Besides, two MLAs would be inducted as speaker and deputy speaker of assembly.