Year after dissolution, CM Sukhu promises new HPCC chief within 10 days

Shimla, Nov 6 (PTI) A year after the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee was dissolved along with the district and block units, barring the state Congress president, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said the new chief would be appointed within 10 days.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had on November 6 last year dissolved the Pradesh Congress Committee and the other units in the state with immediate effect. However, Pratibha Singh, the state Congress chief, stayed in her post.

Addressing the reporters here, Sukhu said the new HPCC president would be appointed within 10 days. This is not the first such announcement made by the CM, as, earlier on October 18, he stated that the appointment would be made by the end of October or in the first week of November.

Sources in the Congress said several leaders, including Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Deputy Speaker of Vidhan Sabha Vinay Kumar, and Kasauli MLA Vinod Sultanpuri, are vying for the post, but the final decision would be taken by the party high command.

The Congress workers and leaders in the state have been vocal about the delay in reconstitution of the state units, especially when the panchayat elections could be around the corner -- if road connectivity is restored in the monsoon disaster aftermath.

According to a government notification, several monsoon-linked incidents in the state led to a total loss of about Rs 5,426 crore this year.

When asked about the panchayat elections, Sukhu said the first priority of the state government is to provide relief to the disaster-hit families, and the panchayat elections would be held after all the roads in the state have reopened.

"The Disaster Act has been implemented in the state, and our first priority is to give relief to the affected families whose houses have been damaged," he said.

The elections to over 3,500 gram panchayats in the state were scheduled for December 2025-January 2026. The last date for conducting the elections is January 23, and the state election commission had started the preparation of electoral rolls.

In a notification issued on October 9, Chief Secretary and chairman of the State Executive Committee Sanjay Gupta had announced that the polls would be held "only after restoration of proper connectivity", considering the damage to roads and private and public property.

The notification pointed out that massive damage was caused during the monsoons this year. From June to September, 47 cloudbursts, 98 flash floods, and 148 major landslides were reported in the state, and 270 people died in rain-related incidents, it said.

The BJP leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and state BJP chief Rajiv Bindal, had accused the Congress government of being reluctant to "face people" due to its poor performance and failure to implement its poll promises and deliberately postponing the panchayat elections. PTI BPL PRK PRK