Rahul, Priyanka by his side, Sukhu takes oath as Himachal CM amid show of unity

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday took oath as the 15th Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister after the Congress returned to power in the hill state that has alternated between the grand old party and the BJP since 1982, and held its record even in this season of the state elections. Sukhu's name for the top post was finally confirmed after a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Saturday. Among others who were being seen as frontrunners were the state Congress chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh, wife of former CM Virbhadra Singh, and Mukesh Agnihotri, who is now the deputy CM. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi we among the top leaders present at the event.

Here are ten points on the Himachal Pradesh oath ceremony:

1) "She is the party's state chief and we all work under her. I am here to extend an invite to her for the oath-taking ceremony," Sukhu was quoted as saying by news agency ANI ahead of the oath event as he was photographed with Pratibha Virbhadra Singh in a show of unity.

2) On Saturday, supporters of Pratibha Singh broke into a protest when the top post went to Sukhu, triggering speculation of internal rift in the Congress.

3) Sukhu was a student leader who gradually rose through the ranks from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). He is also law graduate and a four-time MLA from Nadaun. In his early days, he sold milk in Chhota Shimla in his early days, HT reported earlier.

4) His differences with Virbhadra Singh, who served in the top post six times between 1983 and 2017, had often surfaced. Singh had died last year after Covid complications.

5) Sukhvinder Sukhu is believed to be close to Rahul Gandhi. The Bharat Jodo Yatra foot march was paused briefly on Sunday for Rahul Gandhi to join the Sunday's oath event, which was announced last evening.

6) Mukesh Agnihotri has been sworn in as Sukhu's deputy and other cabinet appointments are likely in the coming days.

7) The Congress won the state of Himachal with 40 of 68 seats while the BJP claimed win in 25 constituencies.

8) Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the difference between the vote share of two parties was less than 1 per cent, and the Election Commission data also backed the remark, Jairam Ramesh on Saturday targeted him saying that PM Modi “was running away from reality” and the vote share difference was nearly 5 per cent.

9) While the counting of votes was still on on Thursday, speculation emerged about attempts of poaching of MLAs.

10) In response to the comments by the Congress leaders on the speculation, former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said "it was the Congress's duty to protect their MLAs."