Congress Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajni Patil has said that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has not yet submitted any proposal to her regarding expansion of the state Cabinet. She said the process would move forward only after a proposal is received from the Chief Minister.
Speaking after a series of meetings at the Congress headquarters Rajiv Bhavan in Shimla, Patil said no proposal regarding Cabinet expansion had so far come from Chief Minister Sukhu. She said the next stage of the process would begin once the Chief Minister sends the proposal.
As a result, there has been no final decision on the inclusion of new faces in the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet.
Patil said detailed discussions were held on several issues related to the party organisation and the government. Congress meetings covered organisational functioning, activities at the district and block levels, preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections and complaints emerging within the party.
According to Patil, a large number of district presidents had complained about coordination and communication problems at the block level. She said indiscipline within the party would not continue to be ignored and indicated a strict approach towards organisational discipline.
Patil also commented on recent statements made by Himachal Pradesh Cabinet Minister Jagat Singh Negi. She said leaders should exercise restraint while making public statements on internal party matters, including the organisation creation campaign.
Patil advised Negi to refrain from such statements and indicated that if a similar situation related to party discipline arose again in the future, the organisation could consider action.
She also said that differences and internal tensions were not entirely unusual in a large organisation and that efforts were continuing to maintain coordination between the government and the organisation.
Several rounds of discussions on Cabinet expansion have taken place within the Himachal Pradesh Congress. Reports in early September said that the issue was expected to be discussed at the party high command level and that feedback on the performance of ministers was also being collected.
According to one report, the party leadership had sought report cards on the performance of ministers, raising the possibility that the Cabinet expansion decision could be delayed.
Along with Cabinet expansion, discussions have also taken place regarding some other political appointments. Reports had mentioned the possibility of appointments to posts such as Chief Whip and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.
However, final decisions on these appointments were also reported to rest with the party leadership. Patil's statement that the Chief Minister has not yet submitted a proposal indicates that the Cabinet expansion process has not reached the stage of a formal decision.
Patil also spoke about the party's preparations for the upcoming elections. She said Congress had begun activating its organisation with the 2027 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections in mind.
She said the party would take its programmes and issues to the people in the coming period. Patil also raised paper leak cases as a key issue concerning young people and claimed that these incidents had a serious impact on them. These figures and claims represent the Congress's political position.
The Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls has also remained a prominent issue in recent activities of the Himachal Pradesh Congress.
On September 25, Congress staged a protest outside the Election Department office in Shimla. Party leaders questioned the SIR process and the functioning of the Election Commission and demanded action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
At a press conference on the issue, Patil levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. She questioned the fairness of the electoral process and said Congress would raise a demand against the use of EVMs in the future.
She also alleged collusion between the Election Commission and the BJP. These statements are political allegations made by a Congress leader and cannot be treated as independently established facts.
A separate position has also emerged from the Election Commission regarding the SIR process and decisions taken under it. According to recent reports, the Election Commission has said that different views and comments within the commission form part of institutional deliberations and that final decisions related to SIR were taken with the consent of all three Election Commissioners.
At the same time, media reports have said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections regarding certain decisions and processes. The political allegations and the institutional position therefore remain separate aspects of the dispute.
Patil said Congress would continue its movement over the voter list and alleged vote theft. She also said the party would stage protests at all district headquarters in Himachal Pradesh on Monday.
The Election Commission and SIR issue is therefore set to remain part of the Himachal Pradesh Congress's political programmes in the coming days.
The Cabinet expansion issue remains under discussion between the party organisation and the government. Reports from September had also referred to discussions on regional balance, women's representation and possible new faces.
Discussion had also taken place regarding women's representation among the Congress's 40 legislators. However, there has been no final official announcement on who will become a minister, which portfolios will be assigned or when the expansion will take place.
For now, Patil's latest statement indicates that the Cabinet expansion process will move forward after a formal proposal is submitted by Chief Minister Sukhu. The party leadership is also maintaining oversight of organisational discipline and public statements by its leaders. The public advice issued to Minister Jagat Singh Negi is being viewed in the context of this broader organisational discipline exercise. The final picture regarding new faces in the Cabinet will become clear only after the Chief Minister's proposal and the decision of the party high command.
