Gandhis by his side, Sukhu takes oath as Himachal CM with Agnihotri as his deputy

Shimla: Former state congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu took oath as 15th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh at an impressive ceremony, held at sprawling Ridge ground of Shimla on Sunday with his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri.

The event turned out to be a show of strength for the Congress as top party leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge flew to Shimla to share the dais with Sukhu and Agnihotri—both next generational leaders in the party after Virbhadra Singh. Rahul Gandhi even decided to pause his "Bharat Jodo Yatra" in Rajasthan to attend the oath taking ceremony in Shimala.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister around 2 pm. However, no other leader was administered the oath of office in the state which can have a maximum 12 ministers.

Massive crowd reached Ridge ground to be part of the event that followed after the congress victory in the state Assembly elections.

The 86-yr old Sankar Devi, mother of Sukhwinder Sukhu got the biggest applause of the Congress workers as she walked to the dais hand-held by Chief Minister's wife Kamlesh Kumari. Sukhu rose from his seat and touched her feet.

The Congress had won 40 seats in the poll against 25 of the BJP, beside three independents getting elected to the House.

Sukhu was elected as leader of the congress legislature party on Saturday despite PCC president Pratibha Singh opposing him to stake her claim for the post to carry forward the legacy of Virbhadra Singh.

But the high command,during a meeting of the MLAs held at state Vidhan Sabha complex, informed that the name of Sukhu has been cleared by the high command.

This triggered protests among the supporters of Pratibha Singh asking the high command to name Singh as Chief Minister because the elections were fought in the name of Virbhadra Singh.

This did not work and eventually Pratibha Singh declared that the decision of the high command was fully acceptable to her, paving the way for the party to go ahead with the government formation.

This morning Sukhu drove to her residence –Holly Lodge and formally invited to the oath ceremony where senior party leaders –Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, AICC Incharge Rajeev Shukla, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda, Senior National Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, former Union Ministers Pawan Bansal and Anand Sharma also arrived .

Others attending the function included Randeep Surjewala, Jitendra Bittu and Sachin Pilot apart from family members of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, MLAs, senior Congress leaders and senior officers and people from all walks of life also attended the oath-taking ceremony of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.

Sukhu said later that the process of the cabineGandhis by his side, Sukhu takes oath as Himachal CM with Agnihotri as his deputy

But the high command,during a meeting of the MLAs held at state Vidhan Sabha complex, informed that the name of Sukhu has been cleared by the high command.

This triggered protests among the supporters of Pratibha Singh asking the high command to name Singh as Chief Minister because the elections were fought in the name of Virbhadra Singh.

This did not work and eventually Pratibha Singh declared that the decision of the high command was fully acceptable to her, paving the way for the party to go ahead with the government formation.

This morning Sukhu drove to her residence –Holly Lodge and formally invited to the oath ceremony where senior party leaders –Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, AICC Incharge Rajeev Shukla, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda, Senior National Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, former Union Ministers Pawan Bansal and Anand Sharma also arrived .

Others attending the function included Randeep Surjewala, Jitendra Bittu and Sachin Pilot apart from family members of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, MLAs, senior Congress leaders and senior officers and people from all walks of life also attended the oath-taking ceremony of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.

Sukhu said later that the process of the cabinet formation will start soon with high command's consultations.