Buzz over revamp of Himachal Cong unit as ex-chief meets Shukla

According to people familiar with the matter, Singh’s meeting with Shukla lasted for more than an hour but a few more consultations, especially at the topmost level of the party, will take place in the coming days before the new organization is set up.

New Delhi: Former Himachal Pradesh Congress unit chief Pratibha Singh, whose term ended earlier this month with the dissolution of the entire unit, met party’s in-charge for the state Rajiv Shukla on Monday, with officials aware of the matter saying that their discussions focused on the reconstitution of the party unit in the only north Indian state where the Congress is in power.

Congress leader Pratibha Singh (HT PHOTO)

According to people familiar with the matter, Singh’s meeting with Shukla lasted for more than an hour but a few more consultations, especially at the topmost level of the party, will take place in the coming days before the new organization is set up.

Two senior party leaders, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Singh, an influential power centre in the state, might be allowed to retain her post even as an important section of the party is opposed to the idea.

The revamped state committee will be trimmer and will follow the principles of one person, one post, a senior leader said.

“When the PCC was formed, whoever wanted to be a part of the state unit was accommodated. Various leaders of the Himachal Pradesh Congress tried to include his or her loyalists in the committee. It had become a jumbo-sized panel. Now, we have to reduce the size of the Pradesh Congress committee. Our government is stable and we can cut the flab from the organization,” said a senior Congress leader aware of the developments.

The Congress on November 6 disbanded the entire party unit in Himachal Pradesh amid repeated setbacks.

Earlier this year, the Congress failed to win the Rajya Sabha election despite a comfortable margin of 10 votes over the Bharatiya Janata Party. Rampant cross-voting damaged the Congress nominee, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, and laid bare factionalism and inner-party conflicts with many leaders pointing fingers at Singh loyalists. Singhvi later got elected to the Upper House from Telangana.

Another leader aware of the developments said that the party is likely to remove a number of office bearers who enjoy government posts. “A number of PCC office bearers have also been made chairpersons of statutory bodies, commissions or standing committees. Some others have found positions in offices of ministers. These people will be removed from the PCC as we want to accommodate new faces,” said a second leader.

Some loyalists of CM Sukhu might be rewarded as the CM managed to stave off an imminent threat to the government after a number of party MLAs voted against its own government. They were suspended and in the by-polls, Congress managed to maintain a comfortable majority.

“Congress president has approved the proposal to dissolve the entire state unit of the PCC, district presidents and Block Congress Committees of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect,” an official communication from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said.

An AICC functionary added that the dissolution of the state unit took place months after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge promised tough measures in states where the Congress performed badly in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In Himachal Pradesh, the party failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat.