Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu becomes 15th CM of Himachal Pradesh, Mukesh Agnihotri deputy chief minister; oath taking on Sunday 11am

SHIMLA: Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (58) became the 15th chief minister of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday. The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in its meeting held on Saturday evening elected him as the leader.


Mukesh Agnihotri (60) was elected as deputy chief minister in the meeting. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel announced the decision of CLP in the meeting. This is for the first time in the Congress that the chief ministerial post has gone to lower Himachal Pradesh as past chief ministers were from Shimla and Sirmaur districts.


When the final decision on the chief minister's post was being taken in the CLP meeting, the supporters of state president Pratibha Singh were creating ruckus outside the meeting venue demanding from the high command to make her the chief minister.

Bhupesh Baghel said that CLP on Friday had passed a single line resolution authorising the Congress high command to select the chief minister and the high command selected Sukhu as CM and Mukesh Agnihotri as the deputy chief minister.

Sukhu is a fourth time MLA from Naudaun assembly seat of Hamirpur district while Mukesh Agnihotri is fifth time MLA from Haorli assembly constituency of Una district and had remained a minister in past.

AICC incharge for the state Rajeev Shukla said that the oath taking ceremony of chief minister and deputy chief minister would take place on Sunday at 11 am. He said that some ministers would also take oath with them but cabinet expansion would take place later.


For the first time, Himachal Pradesh is going to have a deputy chief minister. This is a new trend adopted by the Congress high command to maintain a balance between the warring factions. With both chief minister and deputy chief minister belonging to Hamirpur parliamentary constituency, now Congress high command seems to have shifted its focus to Hamirpur from where at present Union Minister Anurag Thakur is an MP.

In this assembly election, BJP has failed to win even a single seat from Hamirpur district.

By virtue of having the support of maximum MLAs, Sukhu has won the battle of the chief ministerial post against Pratibha Singh and Mukesh Agnihotri. At one point of time, it was being said that both Mukesh and Pratibha have joined hands to oust Sukhu from the race. But going by the numbers, the central observers and the party high command took the decision in Sukhu’s favour who had the support of majority MLAs.

As Sukhu jumped ahead of Pratibha Singh in the race for chief minister’s post, her supporters again gathered outside the hotel where central observers were meeting the MLAs and started raising slogans against the high command. They were demanding from the high command to make her the chief minister.


Sources said that Pratibha Singh lost the race as Congress has fared poorly in the parliamentary seat in this assembly election and under such a scenario facing a by-election in this seat could have proved fatal for the party.

Pratibha Singh had won the by-election from the Mandi parliamentary seat last year and then Congress took the lead from the majority of assembly seats.

In this election, Congress lost the election from Bharmaur assembly seat, but won from Lahaul-Spiti assembly seat. Of the total 4 assembly seats of Kullu district, it could win only from Kullu and Manali assembly seats.

Similarly, in Mandi district it could win only from Dharampur assembly seat while on the rest of 9 seats BJP has emerged victorious. Congress could win the Rampur seat by a narrow margin of a few hundred votes while it managed to win the Kinnaur assembly seat.

Amid the hectic lobbying from the aspirants for the chief minister’s post, the central observers to settle the issue had called Sukhvinder Sukhu and Mukesh Agnihotri to the hotel where they were staying and a virtual meeting of them was held with some central leaders in Delhi.

After this, a CLP meeting was called to make the final declaration. Though the meeting was scheduled for 5 pm but it started late as Pratibha Singh reached late.
Elections 2025 mark a pivotal year for democratic processes across various regions in India and globally. This includes key state assembly elections, local body polls, and by-elections that could significantly impact national-level politics. Get real-time updates, important dates, voting procedures, and verified news — all in one place. Whether you're tracking results or exploring candidate profiles, this is your go-to hub for Elections 2025.