Shimla, Dec 9 : Newly elected Congress legislators will on Friday elect a new Chief Minister after the party returned to power after a gap of five years with a majority in the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly.
Chhattisgarh Chief minister Bhupesh Bhagel and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda reached the Himachal Pradesh Bhawan in Chandigarh on Thursday to oversee the leadership issue and to check horsetrading.
Outgoing Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur of the BJP resigned on Thursday night. He met Governor Rajinder Vishavnath Arhlekar and also handed over a resolution dissolving his cabinet.
Bhagel, Hooda and Rajiv Shukla scheduled to reach Shimla by air from Chandigarh and all MLAs have been told to assemble atthe Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan and choose a Chief Minister.
It is learnt that Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh and Vikramaditya may assert themselves for the Chief Minister’s office.
Pratibha Singh stated that the choice of electing a legislator to the top state post would be done after a meeting with central observes at Chandigarh as the meeting was convened a day earlier.
With the defeat of stalwarts like Kaul Singh Thakur, Ram Lal Thakur and Asha Kumari, there are only four to five suitable contenders for the top post.
The party may tread cautiously to avoid factionalism. The BJP fell short of power by seven MLAs.