Himachal cabinet expansion in next day or two, say Congress sources

Top party sources said on Friday that the Himachal Pradesh cabinet of the newly elected Congress government in the hill state would be expanded in the next day or two.

Sources said Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is in the national capital and held discussions with top party leaders on the expansion of the state cabinet.

Sukhu arrived here last evening and held a closed-door meeting with several leaders in the national capital on inducting several new legislators into the state cabinet.

A senior Congress leader said, “The Himachal Pradesh cabinet will be formed in the next day or two.”

Sources said that discussions will also be held with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and AICC in-charge of Himachal Rajeev Shukla, besides other senior leaders.

Sources said that since Priyanka Gandhi played a key role in campaigning for the party in the hill state, she will also have a role in the formation of the new cabinet.

Presently Chief Minister Sukhu and his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri are on the post. It’s been almost a month since the results were announced on December 8 for the formation of the new cabinet.

The Congress won 40 out of 68 assembly constituencies in the Himachal assembly elections, wresting power from the BJP.

Himachal Pradesh is the only state the Congress has won in the past four years, ending a string of electoral defeats by the beleaguered party.

The newly elected MLAs took oath in the special assembly session held in Dharamshala. Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Pathania was also elected Speaker during the three-day first session of the 14th Legislative Assembly.

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly was adjourned sine die on Friday.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)