New Delhi: The six-member Himachal Pradesh coordination committee formed recently to ensure cooperation between Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government and the state Congress unit will hold its first meeting on March 17.
“The coordination committee is likely to meet on March 17 or 18. The main focus would be on Lok Sabha candidates. We will try to win all the four parliamentary seats in the state,” Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh told ETV Bharat.
The BJP had won all the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh in 2019. Later, Pratibha Singh had won the Mandi Lok Sabha by-poll in 2021. Asked if she would again contest from Mandi, Pratibha Singh said, “the party will take a call on that.”
Besides the Lok Sabha polls, appointments of party workers to various boards and corporations will also be discussed during the coordination committee meeting, the state unit chief said.
The Congress high command had formed the coordination committee after the AICC observers Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and ex Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda brokered peace between the factions led by Pratibha Singh and chief minister Sukhu. Crisis had hit the Sukhu government after six rebel MLAs voted against the party’s Rajya Sabha nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi and helped the BJP nominee Harsha Mahajan win in a tie.
Factionalism in the state unit surfaced around the same time when PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of Pratibha Singh and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, resigned to protest Sukhu’s style of functioning. Vikramaditya later withdrew his resignation at the instance of DK Shivakumar. The six rebel MLAs were later expelled by the assembly Speaker and approached the apex court where Singhvi opposed their plea.
The Himachal Pradesh Congress chief refused to comment on the fate of the rebels but said that the state government was safe. “I don’t want to comment on the rebel MLAs as the matter is subjudice. But we are trying to ensure that the state government continues for its remaining term,” Pratibha Singh said.
Besides the chief minister and the state unit chief, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri and senior leaders Dhaniram Shandilya, Kaul Singh Thakur and Ram Lal Thakur are the members of the coordination committee. The state leaders supporting Sukhu have hit the streets protesting the BJP’s moves to destabilize elected governments.
“Our preparations for the Lok Sabha polls have started. Rallies are being held across the state every day. We will win all the four seats. The BJP tried to destabilize our government but failed. The state government has been doing good work over the past fourteen months and will continue the pace. The coordination committee is to take big decisions after due consultations,” AICC secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh Tajinder Pal Singh told ETV Bharat.
According to him, the state had elected Congress over raising bread and butter issues that affect the common people and the voters will again support the social welfare and social justice agenda of the Congress in the coming national polls.
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