With Congress surging towards victory, leading in 40 seats in 68-seated Himachal Pradesh, the party as a precautionary step has decided to move its newly-elected MLAS out of the State.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We accept our defeat in Gujarat and welcome our victory in Himachal Pradesh. We shall continue our fight. No victory or defeat is permanent. We will not leave our principles and this is an ideological battle. We shall analyse and try to overcome our shortcomings.”
Speaking to reporters, Congress’ State in-charge Rajiv Shukla said, “We are leading on forty seats. Why should we fear “operation lotus”, if these figures continue then there won’t be any such situation.” Mr. Shukla along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel who is a senior observer of the State are headed to Chandigarh, where Haryana leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda is already camping, waiting for the Congress legislators.
To keep the house in order, the party is working overtime to come up with a suitable power sharing arrangement between different factions. The party did not announce any chief ministerial names before going into the election, but so far, names of three hopefuls is doing the rounds, -- current Pradesh Congress president Pratibha Singh, former PCC Sukhwinder Singh Sukku and Congress Legislative Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri.
“There are enough reasons for us to remain alert. Though the gap between us and the BJP is large, they could apply Maharashtra model here by breaking the party, so we have to keep all our doors and windows shut,” a senior Congress functionary added.
The bigger test for the party would be zero in on a Chief Minister who can keep the flock intact for the next five years. The party insiders said that a call will be taken after consultation with the state leadership and high command in Delhi.
Published - December 08, 2022 03:48 pm IST
