Sukhwinder Sukhu takes oath as 15th Himachal CM, Mukesh Agnihotri his deputy

Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing Assembly, took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.

“We will deliver on our promises to the public in the first Cabinet meeting. The Old Pension Scheme will be restored…Earlier people said Congress will not come to power in any state, but today we have stopped BJP’s ‘rath’,” the Himachal Pradesh Deputy CM said.

The oath-taking ceremony took place at 1.30 pm today at Raj Bhavan.

Earlier today, Sukhu said that he is happy that despite being from an ordinary family he is going to be the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

“I am happy that I am going to be CM despite being from an ordinary family. I am thankful to the Congress party and the Gandhi family for giving me this opportunity. My mother never stopped me from being in politics. I have reached here today because of her blessings,” he said.

Sukhu is a grassroots politician who has risen from the ranks and has wide organisational experience in the hill state.

Previous to this, Sukhu was chairman of the Congress Campaign Committee for the assembly elections in which the party focused on local issues and made lucrative promises including an old pension scheme.

He will be the second chief minister from Hamirpur district after BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Rahul Gandhi arrived in Shimla to attend Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu’s oath ceremony as the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Reminding Rahul Gandhi that she has fulfilled the promise she made to him, “We had promised that we will get back Congress in Himachal Pradesh,” says State Congress chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh to party leader Rahul Gandhi at Shimla.

Rahul Gandhi arrived in Shimla with her sister and party’s General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra via Sanjauli helipad to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the CM-designate of the hill state- Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.

On her arrival, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also expressed her happiness as she said: “We are very happy”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, on the occasion, said that the party’s victory in the state Assembly polls is an example of what happens when the party fights unitedly.

“This is a victory that belongs to the people of Himachal Pradesh. This is an example of what emerges when the Congress party fights unitedly,” he told ANI.

Gehlot asserted that the victory in Himachal Pradesh is the “new beginning for Congress and people of Himachal”, and also added underlined that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is against inflation and unemployment.

However, Congress leader Sachin Pilot also expressed his faith in Sukhu that he would be able to fulfill the promises as delivered by the party.

“I believe that Sukhu will be able to deliver all the promises given by Congress. The people of Himachal Pradesh always supported Congress. We all will work together for the development of the state,” Sachin Pilot said.

With agency inputs