Shimla – Ending all speculation and suspense, finally, Congress has appointed Vinay Kumar as the new Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president. After months of internal discussion, the party high command finalised his name and Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge issued the appointment orders on Saturday. Party National General Secretary KC Venugopal confirmed the development.
Ahead of the announcement, Vinay Kumar resigned from the post of Deputy Speaker of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, and his resignation was accepted by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania. Vinay represents the Renuka reserved assembly constituency in Sirmaur district, which falls under the Shimla parliamentary seat.
The Congress organisation in Himachal Pradesh had been without stable leadership for over a year. Pratibha Singh completed her three-year term as state president in November last year and had been serving as acting president since then. The high command had been deliberating over the appointment while the Panchayati Raj and urban local body elections are approaching. The decision to appoint Vinay Kumar is seen as crucial for organisational revival and electoral preparation.
The party leadership has chosen Vinay Kumar with an eye on strengthening support among the Scheduled Caste community and targeting the 2027 Vidhan Sabha elections. After Rajputs, Scheduled Castes form the second-largest population group in the state. His appointment also maintains both caste and regional balance within the party. With this, both the Congress and BJP now have state presidents from Sirmaur. This marks the first time in 20 years that Congress has again placed a Scheduled Caste leader at the helm of the state unit.
Vinay Kumar, son of late Dr. Prem Singh, said he has benefited from his father’s political legacy. Dr. Prem Singh represented Renuka six times and was known as a committed Congress leader. Vinay entered active politics after his father’s passing in 2011 and received the party ticket from Renuka for the subsequent by-election. Born in 1978, he is now 47 and has expressed gratitude to the high command for the trust placed in him. He stated that strengthening the organisation will remain his top priority as he takes charge of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee.
