Shimla civic polls: Sukhu's first litmus test

New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his party regains control of the Shimla municipal corporation, elections for which will be held on May 2.

For Sukhu, the civic poll is a prestige battle and the first test of his popularity after becoming the chief minister in December last year.

The Congress had comfortably defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in last year's assembly elections, winning 40 of the total 68 seats.

The BJP won 25 while others bagged the remaining three seats.

Sukhu has emerged as the undisputed leader of the Congress after the death of Raja Virbhadra Singh.

It is well-known in Himachal Pradesh political circles that Sukhu was not the choice of party in-charge Rajeev Shukla who desperately wanted Mukesh Agnihotri to be the chief minister.

However, the Congress high command prevailed and installed 59-year-old Sukhu. Since then, there has been no looking back for him. A four-time legislator, Sukhu has risen through the ranks.

His father, Rashil Singh, worked as a driver for the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation.

He joined the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress when he was a college student. In 1989, he was chosen to lead the Himachal Pradesh NSUI. Sukhu also headed the State Youth Congress from 1998 to 2008.

Prior to that, he had twice won the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections in 1992 and 2002.

In 2013, he was handed over the reins of the Himachal Pradesh Congress due to his management skills and popularity within the cadre and the people.

Sukhu is personally monitoring and micro-managing the party's campaign in the Shimla municipal polls.

The Congress and the BJP have fielded candidates in all 34 wards, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) are contesting in 22 and four wards respectively.

The Congress is hopeful of regaining control of the state capital's civic body in view of the strong anti-incumbency against the BJP.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation remained a Congress stronghold till 2012 when the CPI(M) ousted the grand old party to take control of the civic body.

In the direct elections for mayor and deputy mayor’s post, CPI(M) candidates Sanjay Chauhan and Tikender Sigh Panwar were elected as the mayor and deputy mayor respectively.

However, the BJP won the polls in 2017 and gained control of the municipal corporation.

Soon after, the then-chief minister Jairam Thakur increased the number of wards from 34 to 41.

The Congress, however, reversed the decision and went for a revised delimitation after it came to power in 2022.

The five-year term of the Shimla Municipal Corporation ended in June 2022, but the elections could not be held due to court cases challenging the delimitation of wards.

Sukhu is showcasing his work in the past four months to garner public support.

If he succeeds and leads the Congress to victory, Sukhu will further tighten his grip on the party and the government.