Congress leader Sunil Sharma, who is believed to be a close aide of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, has been appointed his political advisor.
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This is the first appointment made by Mr. Sukhu, who was on December 11 sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of the hill State.
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Mr. Sharma has been appointed as political advisor to the Chief Minister in the rank of Cabinet Minister, a notification issued by Chief Secretary R. D. Dhiman on Sunday said. In the past, Mr. Sharma has served as the president of the Congress' Hamirpur district unit and the party's State general secretary.
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The Congress wrested power from the BJP in the State winning 40 of the 68 Assembly seats. Polling was held on November 12 and results were declared on Thursday. Mr. Sharma was also in the race for a Congress ticket for contesting the Hamirpur Assembly seat but could not get one.
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The seat was won by Independent candidate Ashish Sharma who defeated Congress' Pushpinder Verma by 12,899 votes, according to the Election Commission. Mr. Sharma was also a member of the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission during the previous Congress government in the State.
Mr. Sukhu's choice as the Chief Minister is also being seen as the Congress shifting its power centre from Upper Himachal to Lower Himachal. In other appointments, Danbir Thakur, a retired State administrative services officer, has been given the post of Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, officials said.