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Journalism of Courage
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday inducted seven ministers into his Cabinet, days after he left the Assembly Winter Session in the middle and travelled to Delhi to consult the high command about finalising the Cabinet. Sukhu had been operating on his own since taking oath as CM last month.
One of the key reasons behind the delay was the deliberation behind the distribution of portfolios among leaders from upper and lower Himachal, according to party insiders. Three of the ministers are from the Shimla region and despite the CM’s balancing act, the Cabinet is tilted in favour of upper Himachal at the moment.
In the Cabinet, there are four Rajputs — Vikramaditya Singh, Anirudh Singh, Harshvardhan Chauhan, and Rohit Thakur — one Other Backward Class (OBC) leader (Chander Kumar), one leader from a Scheduled Caste (SC) community (Dhani Ram Shandil), and one minister from a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community (Jagat Singh Negi).
From Vikramaditya, the son of former CM Virbhadra Singh and current state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, to Jubbal-Kotkhai MLA Thakur and veteran Shandil, the Cabinet is a mix of young leaders and those with years of administrative experience.
Vikramaditya Singh
Locals call the 32-year-old MLA from Shimla Rural “tikka”, or prince. Son of six-time late CM Virbhadra Singh, it was understood that Vikramaditya would be given a Cabinet post as his mother and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Pratibha was denied the CM’s chair.
Vikramaditya is a graduate of Delhi University’s Hansraj College. He joined the youth wing of the Congress during his studies. In 2013, Vikramaditya began his association with the Congress state unit and was later elected president of the state youth Congress. Vikramaditya’s seat was earlier represented by his father. In 2017, he and Virbhadra had become the first father-son duo to take oath as MLAs in Himachal’s history.
Harshvardhan Chauhan
Harshvardhan Chauhan (59) won from Shillai in Sirmaur district. He defeated his longtime adversary and former CM Jairam Thakur’s aide Baldev Tomar.
Chauhan is a second-generation leader. His father Guman Singh Chauhan represented Shillai four times between 1972 and 1985. The seat was won by Jagat Singh Negi of the Janta Dal in 1990 before Chauhan wrested it back in his first electoral outing in 1993. Chauhan went on to win the seat in 1998, 2003, 2007, 2017, and 2022. The only time he lost it was in 2012 when Baldev Tomar got the better of him.
Chander Kumar
One of the oldest and most experienced MLAs in the House, the 78-year-old is a six-time legislator and a senior Other Backward Class (OBC) leader from Kangra’s Jawali. He won five of the elections from the constituency of Guler.
Kumar has earlier served as Cabinet Minister Irrigation, Forests, Environment and Power during previous Congress rules. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kangra and was a member of the tourism committee. Kumar was elected the pro-tem Speaker before Kuldeep Singh Pathania was appointed as Speaker.
With three of the ministers from Shimla, Kumar is an important face representing the Kangra region.
Rohit Thakur
A four-time MLA from Jubbal-Kotkhai, Rohit Thakur was being touted as one of the Cabinet probables ever since the Congress won the elections. A close aide of Sukhu, Thakur led the apple protests in the region and commands considerable popularity.
The 49-year-old comes from Jubbal-Kotkhai, which is considered a VIP seat as it has been represented multiple times by former CMs Thakur Ram Lal and Virbhadra Singh.
A bypoll was held for Jubbal last year following the death of sitting MLA Narinder Bragta. His son Chetan Bragta sought a ticket from the BJP but was not chosen. Chetan chose to contest as an Independent and due to the vote split, the BJP candidate lost the deposit and paved the way for a Congress victory.
It is anticipated that Thakur will be given Horticulture Department as he belongs to an apple-producing region and his role in the protests.
Anirudh Singh
A three-time MLA from Kasumpti, Anirudh defeated Urban Development Minister Suresh Bharadwaj in the Assembly elections.
The 46-year-old hails from an erstwhile royal family and is considered close to Sukhu. Singh enjoys local support, especially among the apple farmers’ community and government employees. He has been the vice-president of the state youth Congress and was also the state general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress.
Col (retd) Dhani Ram Shandil
The oldest MLA at 82 years, Dhani Ram Shandil represents Solan. He wanted to be appointed the Deputy CM but the party went with Mukesh Agnihotri. Displeased, Shandil held several meetings with close aides and the high command. The efforts seem to have borne fruit as he now finds himself in the Cabinet.
Between 1962 and 96, Shandil served in the armed forces where he rose to become a colonel. In 1999, Shandil joined active politics and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Shimla. He retained the seat in 2004. He went on to work for the Congress committee in Meghalaya, Arunachal and Mizoram and after his return to state politics was elected MLA in 2012.
Jagat Singh Negi
Negi perhaps represents the most important apple belt in Himachal Pradesh – Kinnaur. His father Gyan Singh Negi was also a Congress MLA.
In the 1980s, Negi became the founder-president of the Kinnaur District Apple and Vegetable Growers Association. He was also the president of the District Bar Association and went on to hold posts in the District Youth Congress, the Congress Committee, and the state Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation.
Negi was a close Virbhadra Singh aide over the years. His ministerial berth is likely to be a crucial boost to the party’s support base in Kinnaur, where several areas are remote and inaccessible. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1995 and served on several parliamentary committees over the next decade.
In the previous Assembly, the 66-year-old, in his fourth term as MLA, was the chief whip of the Congress Legislature Party.
