Congress leader Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu took oath as the 15th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. The swearing-in ceremony comes shortly after the results of Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections were announced. In the 68-seat assembly polls, Congress came to power in the hill state by winning 40 seats. After his name was announced as the CM, Sukhu asserted that his government will work honestly and fulfil the promises made to the public. “We wanted to secure power not merely to be in power. We want to change the system. Give me some time. We need to work hard, struggle to bring in a new system and new thinking,” IE quoted the new CM as saying. Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, administered the oath as the deputy Chief Minister.
The ceremony was attended by senior party leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Sukhu was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at a ceremony under the open sky at the historic Ridge ground in Shimla, PTI reported.
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Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also attended the ceremony along with Union minister Anand Sharma, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajeev Shukla, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh and senior leader Sachin Pilot were also present.
The new CM won the assembly election for the first time in 2003 from Nadaun seat and was able to retain the seat in 2007 as well. However, Sukhu was defeated in 2012 but he came back to power again in 2017 and 2022. According to IE, the CM, who is a law graduate, began his political innings with student politics and gradually rose to the position of state unit chief.