Looking for Himachal rejig, Congress, BJP play waiting game as races for chiefs heat up

In November 2022 Assembly polls, the Congress ousted the BJP from power, bagging 40 out of 68 seats as against the latter’s 25 seats, following which Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a known rival of the Virbhadra family, took charge as the CM.

The Congress was routed in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, losing all four seats to the BJP, but managed to win six out of nine Assembly seats in the by-elections that restored stability to the Sukhu government which had plunged into a crisis after six Congress MLAs had turned rebel in February 2024.

While the Congress high command was left red-faced, the Sukhu government was pushed to the brink as PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of Virbhadra, announced his resignation from the Cabinet, which he later withdrew.

In November 2024, the All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s president Mallikarjun Kharge dissolved the entire HPCC, including the district and block committees, but retained Pratibha as the state unit head until further orders.

The Congress leadership then deployed 16 observers – 12 at the district level and four at the parliamentary constituency level – to assess Himachal’s political landscape. None of the observers was from the state – a move that irked senior state Congress leaders, including Pratibha and Sukhu.

Congress insiders say a tug of war has intensified between the factions of Sukhu and Pratibha over the naming of the next HPCC president. Sukhu is said to be lobbying to see one of his loyalists appointed as the new state party chief, which has deepened the divide between the two camps, party sources said.

Apart from Pratibha, the frontrunners in the race for the HPCC chief include

Arki MLA Sanjay Awasthi, Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar, and Bhoranj MLA Suresh Kumar, who are considered close to the CM. Other probable candidates include Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, ex-HPCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur, and AICC secretary Asha Kumari.

A senior Congress leader said, “Every CM seeks control over party affairs, but the high command avoids centralisation of power. Sukhu himself served as party president for two consecutive terms (2013-2019) despite stiff opposition from then CM Virbhadra Singh. The possibility of Pratibha Singh continuing as state president cannot be ruled out. The high command’s decision to retain her while dissolving all state committees suggests she still holds significant influence.”

However, another Congress leader asserted that “The state Congress will get a new president after February 15”.

The 16 observers have submitted their reports to the AICC leadership.

BJP unit restructuring

Amid the BJP’s ongoing organisational elections, the race for the Himachal Pradesh party president’s post is said to have narrowed to some key faces, including Bilaspur MLA Trilok Jamwal, Kangra MP Rajeev Bhardwaj, and Rajya Sabha MPs Sikander Kumar and Indu Goswami. However, the incumbent BJP president Dr Rajeev Bindal also remains a leading contender in the race.

The BJP organisational polls in the hill state had gathered momentum in November 2024, when the number of organisational mandals (blocks) was increased from 74 to 171. With all 171 BJP block presidents and 17 district chiefs now named, the state party is now heading for the election or selection of its new president.

A senior BJP leader said, “The BJP high command ultimately picks the party president. In case a consensus is not reached over a name, and multiple candidates file nominations, an election would take place under party observer and election in-charge appointed by the high command. Those who hold the voting rights include 171 mandal and 17 district presidents, among other leaders.”

A key factor behind Bindal’s possible reappointment could be a BJP rule that allows a state president to serve for up to six years. If his previous tenures – during January-July 2020 and from April 2023 to the present – are taken into account, he has completed nearly three years.

The defection of several Congress leaders and MLAs to the BJP has also reshaped the party’s internal dynamics, prompting its leadership to look for a leader capable of balancing equations between the BJP old-timers and newly-inducted Congress turncoats, party sources said.

After the Congress defectors switched to the BJP, CM Sukhu has repeatedly alleged that the latter has been “reduced to multiple factions”.

BJP sources have maintained that “The state party unit has been dominated by four power centres including BJP national president J P Nadda, who is from Bilaspur, Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, Leader of Opposition and ex-CM Jairam Thakur, and MLA Vipin Singh Parmar”.

Though 165 out of 171 mandal presidents were selected smoothly, differences came to the fore in six Assembly constituencies – Dharamshala, Hamirpur, Barsar, Sujanpur, Kutlehar, and Lahaul-Spiti – where the Congress turncoats hold influence. The discord was resolved after the defectors, along with Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Mahajan, met senior BJP leaders in Delhi, following which they were allowed to have a say in selecting the mandal presidents in their belts.

During his visit to Shimla on January 18, when Union Minister Jitender Singh, who is in-charge of the Himachal BJP, was asked by reporters about the state party chief’s election, he said: “Opinion of all the stakeholders is being taken. A consensus is being built. The BJP goes by the rules. The name of the new party president will be announced shortly.”