Shimla: After months of delay and internal discussions, the All India Congress Committee has approved a major organisational reshuffle in Himachal Pradesh, including the formation of a Political Affairs Committee and other key panels aimed at strengthening the party structure in the state.
The proposal was cleared by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, with AICC General Secretary K. C. Venugopal issuing a formal announcement.
The newly constituted Political Affairs Committee brings together top leaders of the state, including Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, former Union Minister Anand Sharma and former MP Pratibha Singh.
Several senior leaders such as Kuldeep Singh Rathore, Asha Kumari, Chander Kumar, Dhani Ram Shandil, Harshwardhan Chauhan, Jagat Singh Negi, Rohit Thakur, Anirudh Singh, Vikramaditya Singh, Rajesh Dharmani, Yadwinder Goma, Ramlal Thakur, Nand Lal, R.S. Bali, Bhawani Singh Pathania, Kehar Singh Khachi and Surender Sharma have also been included in the panel. The General Secretary (Organisation), Himachal in-charge and AICC secretaries linked to the state will serve as ex-officio members.
Along with this, the AICC has constituted the Executive Committee and Disciplinary Committee of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee. The Executive Committee includes 21 leaders, among them Sukhu, Agnihotri, Anand Sharma and Pratibha Singh.
Kuldeep Singh Rathore has been appointed chairman of the Disciplinary Action Committee, with Ashish Butail, Bhawani Singh Pathania and Anuradha among its members.
In the organisational rejig, 12 leaders including Rajneesh Kimta and Neeraj Bharti have been appointed as Vice-Presidents of the state unit. Madan Chaudhary has been named Treasurer.
The party has also appointed 27 General Secretaries, including Vinod Zinta, Pawan Thakur, Amit Bharmouri, Surender Mankotia, Yashpal Tanhaik, Manmohan Katoch and Yadopati Thakur.
The restructuring is being seen as an attempt by the Congress high command to streamline coordination between the government and the organisation in Himachal Pradesh, amid growing political challenges and the need to strengthen the party at the grassroots level.
