Over 3 weeks after taking oath Himachal CM Sukhu still confused over forming Cabinet

Shimla: In what is turning out to be a major embarrassment for the Congress party, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has still not been able to form a Cabinet despite having taken the oath of office over three weeks ago.

Sukhu, a protégé of Rahul Gandhi, had taken oath on December 11 at the historic ‘Ridge Maidan’ of Shimla and Rahul had left his Bharat Jodo Yatra to attend the ceremony. Priyanka Gandhi was also present on the occasion. Mukesh Agnihotri, had been sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister to appease the rival faction in the Congress.

Going by the indications from Congress circles, Sukhu is unlikely to form his cabinet in another one week or even before the upcoming festival of Lohri that falls on January 13.

Asked about the delay, which many attribute to the infighting in the party and intense lobbying by various factions for plum posts, Sukhu sounded quite clueless as he went to attend the first assembly session, being held at Dharamshala between January 4 to 6.

“The cabinet is very much in place. Right now, it’s a two-member cabinet–myself and Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri.The arrangement is working fine. I will expand the cabinet in due course, maybe after the session but no date is fixed,” he told journalists on Wednesday.

When asked what the hitch was, the Chief Minister said, ” No hitch. No pressure on me. We are in the power for Vyavastha Parivartan (systemic change). Earlier the cabinet used to be formed within three days of the government. I said stop it. Let’s wait for some time and constitute the cabinet some days later. Few decisions are bitter. Difficult to accept. Eventually, the fruits are sweet,” he quipped.

Leader of opposition in the assembly Jai Ram Thakur, a former BJP Chief Minister, on Wednesday questioned the Chief Minister as to why there is still no cabinet .

” How is this government holding the session of the assembly with no cabinet ministers in treasury benches? I have not seen such a situation in my 25 years of legislative career,” he mocked.

Insiders say the Chief Minister is walking a tightrope in forming the cabinet as there are only 10 vacancies to be filled up since the total strength of the cabinet in Himachal Pradesh is just 12.

With a total of 40 MLAs, Sukhu faces a difficult task to pick his team as there are more than 20 strong aspirants lobbying for positions. While some are citing their seniority, others are laying their claim on caste and regional considerations.

Sukhu who had backing of more than 24 MLAs when he was chosen for the Chief Ministerial post wants to have a larger share in the cabinet for his loyalists while PCC chief Pratibha Singh–who had staked her claim to the leadership citing the “legacy factor,” wants a fair representation in the government.

Apart from her son Vikramaditya Singh, a two-time MLA, she is also trying to see that at least two other loyalists of her husband, the late Virbhadra Singh, get posts.

There are larger districts like Kangra–which elected 10 Congress MLAs including six-timers like Chander Kumar, former minister Sudhir Sharma young faces viz R S Bali, son of former minister late G S Bali, Kewal Singh Pathania and Ashish Butail, a two-time Palampur MLA, are seen as potential aspirants.

Shimla having elected seven congress MLAs, barring one from the BJP, has also put Sukhu in a tough situation.

While Rohit Thakur, a four-time MLA from Jubbal-Kotkhai, an apple-belt, Vikramaditya Singh and Anirudh Singh are prominent cabinet faces, former PCC President Kuldeep Rathore is mobilising support from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to secure his berth. Rajendra Rana, a third-time MLA from Sujanpur–who had defeated Prem Kumar Dhumal, BJP’s Chief Ministerial face in 2017 is eyeing a cabinet post though he hails from the Chief Minister’s district of Hamirpur.

With the nomination of Kuldeep Pathania, a four-time MLA from Bhatiyat (Chamba) for the Speaker’s post, there could be new claimants for the cabinet from Kangra.

According to sources, there are also chances that Sukhu, in the first phase, will induct only six or eight new faces to leave two berths vacant to keep balance of power in his hand.

Also Read: Sukhwinder Sukhu takes oath as Himachal CM in presence of Rahul, Priyanka