NewsDrum's breaking confirmed; Congress appoints Pratibha Singh as Himachal PCC Chief

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, the Congress appointed former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's wife and Mandi Lok Sabha MP Pratibha Virbhadra Singh as the president of the party unit in the state on Tuesday.

NewsDrum.in had reported on April 21 that Congress might fall back on Virbhadra Singh's legacy to set its house in order.

Singh replaces Kuldeep Singh Rathore as the Himachal Pradesh Congress chief.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Harsh Mahajan, Rajender Rana, Pawan Kajal and Vinay Kumar as the new working presidents of the Himachal Pradesh PCC, which has been revamped ahead of the state Assembly polls slated later this year.

Gandhi also appointed former Union minister Anand Sharma as the chairman of the Steering Committee of the Himachal Pradesh Congress, with Asha Kumari as its convenor, while former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been appointed as the chairman of the Campaign Committee.

Sukhu will also be a member of the Screening Committee of the Himachal Pradesh Congress.

Mukesh Agnihotri has been retained as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. Harshwardhan Chauhan has been appointed as the deputy CLP leader and Jagat Singh Negi will be the party's chief whip in the Assembly.

"The Congress president has also approved the proposal of appointment of office-bearers of the PCC and the Congress Legislature Party, and the constitution of various committees of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect," according to a statement issued by the party.

While Gangu Singh Musafir, Inderdutt Lakhanpal, Sunder Singh Thakur, Ravi Thakur and Suresh Kumar have been appointed as senior vice-presidents, Sanjay Awasthi, Naresh Chauhan, Maheswar Chauhan, Harish Janartha, Surender Chauhan and Mohinder Chauhan are the new vice-presidents of the Himachal Pradesh Congress.

Rajesh Sharma will be the new treasurer of the HPPCC.

Viplove Thakur is the new chairperson of the disciplinary committee, while Ashray Sharma, the grandson of former Union minister Sukh Ram, is the chairman of the media and social media committee, the party said.

The current office-bearers and committees other than those appointed now shall, however, continue to hold their respective posts, the statement said.

"The party appreciates the contributions of outgoing PCC president Kuldeep Singh Rathore," it added.

The Manifesto Committee will be chaired by Dhaniram Shandil. Ashish Butail will be its vice chairman and Rhit Thakur the convenor.

Former PCC chief Kaul Singh Thakur has been made the chairman of the Coordination Committee, while Suresh Chandel will be its vice-chairman.

Former minister Ram Lal Thakur has been made the chairman of the Election Management Committee. Kuldeep Singh Pathania and Anirudh Singh are the vice-chairmen of the panel and Raghubir Singh Bali will be its convenor.