Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has officially dissolved the entire party unit of Himachal Pradesh, a significant move aimed at addressing internal factionalism within the state unit. The decision comes as part of a broader effort to restructure the Congress Party’s organizational framework in the hill state, following mounting concerns about party infighting, which became especially visible during the recent Rajya Sabha elections.
An official communication from AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal confirmed the dissolution, stating that the entire Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), along with district and block Congress Committees, had been disbanded with immediate effect. This includes the resignation of key positions, including the state party chief.
Pratibha Singh, the outgoing President of the Himachal Pradesh PCC, had been leading the unit since April 2022. A prominent figure within the Congress, Singh is the wife of the late Virbhadra Singh, a former chief minister of the state, and is also a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body. Her leadership, however, has faced challenges, with reports suggesting that the PCC has been plagued by internal divisions and lack of cohesion, particularly after the party’s victory in the state assembly elections in December 2022.
The factionalism within the Himachal Pradesh Congress became more apparent during the recent Rajya Sabha elections, when Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi lost to BJP’s Harsh Mahajan. The defeat was attributed to defections within the party, with several Congress MLAs cross-voting, weakening the party’s position. Mahajan’s switch to the BJP, where he was subsequently appointed as one of the working presidents of the state BJP unit, further fueled discontent within the Congress camp.
The restructuring of the state unit is seen as a move to rejuvenate the party’s prospects ahead of upcoming elections, including the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha polls. As of now, several names are circulating for the role of the new Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief in Himachal Pradesh. Among the prominent contenders are ministers Anirudh Singh and Harshvardhan Chauhan, who have been mentioned as potential replacements for Pratibha Singh.
This move comes in the wake of a similar decision taken earlier this year in Odisha, where the Congress Party dissolved the entire state unit after its poor performance in the 2024 general elections. In that case, Odisha PCC president Sarat Pattanayak and other office-bearers were removed, and a 15-member coordination committee was tasked with overseeing the party’s activities in the state.
The Congress Party, under Kharge’s leadership, seems to be taking a more proactive stance in restructuring state units where factionalism and leadership crises have hindered its growth. The party’s focus appears to be on strengthening its organizational machinery at the grassroots level in order to mount a more formidable challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming national and state elections.
As the Congress prepares for a leadership overhaul in Himachal Pradesh, all eyes will be on how the new leadership navigates the complex political landscape and attempts to unify the party’s divided factions.
Sources By Agencies
