Who is Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the next CM of Himchal Pradesh

A product of student politics senior Congress leader and fourtime MLA Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was a known detractor of party veteran Virbhadra Singh who had dominated the Himachal Pradesh politics for over five decades until his demise last yearWith the party bagging its first victory in the hill state without the charismatic presence of Virbhadra Singh Sukhus elevation makes it clear that the party is ready to move on More so as the party did not give in to the strong claim to the post mounted by Pratibha Singh the partys state unit chief and wife of Virbhadra SinghSon of a road transport corporation driver Sukhu 58 had a modest beginning and used to run a milk counter at Chhota Shimla in his early daysRising through the ranks Sukhu was a relentless fighter and remained the partys state unit president for a record six years from 2013 to 2019 despite being frequently at loggerheads with Virbhadra Singh a sixtime chief ministerThe old rivalry came to the fore again after the party wrested power from the BJP in the justconcluded assembly polls with both Sukhu and Pratibha Singh staking claim to the chief ministers postSukhu will be the first Congress leader from Lower Himachal comprising areas merged in Himachal in 1966 such as Nalagarh Una Hamirpur Kangra and lower hills of Kullu to occupy the top post He will be the second chief minister from Hamirpur district after BJPs Prem Kumar DhumalThe Nadaun MLA who is considered close to Rahul Gandhi and was the Congress campaign committee head was unanimously elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party on Saturday He will take oath as the chief minister on Sunday He will be the seventh person to hold the post in the stateAlso Read Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to be next Himachal CM Mukesh Agnihotri his deputyThat he enjoys the confidence of the party high command was clear when he was appointed chairman of the Congress election campaign committee and a large number of his supporters got party tickets party insiders sayDuring his tenure as the state Congress chief he strengthened the organisation and his rapport with workers and legislators made him a strong contender for the chief ministers post they saidThe Congress wrested power from the BJP in the hill state winning 40 of the 68 assembly seats The polling was held on November 12 and the results were declared Thursday This was the first state election since the demise of Virbhadra Singh in July 2021Sukhu was the general secretary of the state unit of the Congressaffiliated National Students Union of India NSUI and later became the president of the student bodyHe did his MA and LLB from Himachal Pradesh UniversityRising from the grassroots he was elected twice as councillor of Shimla Municipal CorporationHe won the assembly election for the first time in 2003 from Nadaun retained the seat in 2007 but was defeated in 2012 and won again in 2017 and 2022This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever