A Year Later, Cong Appointed Vinay Kumar As New PCC Chief

A year after dissolving the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) and all district and block bodies while retaining Pratibha Singh, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has named three-time MLA Vinay Kumar as the new PCC president.

Vinay Kumar, 47, emerges as the Congress’s key Dalit face in the Rajput-dominated state. He stepped down as deputy speaker on Sunday, hours after the AICC announced his appointment as the state Congress president.

His appointment comes at a time when the state government, led by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, will be completing its three-year term in power to mark the countdown for the next assembly elections in 2027.

He will replace former MP and ex-CM Virbhadra Singh’s wife, Pratibha Singh, who was appointed to this post ahead of the 2022 assembly polls. But, after the survey, three-time MLA Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu became Chief Minister.

The Congress’s decision to hand-pick a Dalit face over Rajput contenders — Rohit Thakur, a sitting minister, and Kuldeep Rathore, MLA and former PCC chief — marks a clear attempt to recalibrate its social and electoral strategy.

With around 25.49 per cent of the population in the state, Dalits constitute a significant segment of the state’s electorate, especially in districts like Una, Solan, Sirmaur, and parts of Kangra. But some Dalit organisations claim their population is well over 30 per cent.

Hailing from the Sirmaur district, Vinay Kumar is the son of six-time former Congress MLA Prem Singh, a staunch Virbhadra Singh loyalist, who never held any official position in the government.

However, Vinay Kumar — who joined politics after the demise of his father— had earlier remained as Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Congress working president in the state.

But this is not the first time a member of the Scheduled Caste community has been named as the state Congress president. Earlier, the late K D Sultanpuri, a former Shimla MP, and Kuldeep Kumar, a former minister, had served as party chiefs, but the majority have been from the Rajput community.

“I am grateful to the party for having chosen me to head the organisation and also work in close coordination with the state government to rebuild the Congress setup, make it strong enough, and also engage party workers and leaders to highlight the achievements of the government during the past three years. The sole aim is to ensure that the party wins the 2027 polls,” said the new PCC president in his first reaction.

But many also see the appointment of Vinay Kumar as a balancing act in the state, where till now only one camp, led by Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, continued to dominate the scene and also consolidated power.

Vinay Kumar is a protégé of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and considered close to “Holly Lodge” — the party lobby holding allegiance to outgoing PCC president Pratibha Singh and son Vikramaditya Singh, the state’s PWD minister.

However, currently Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri is holding a large flock of MLAs, who are not very comfortable with the Chief Minister and his style of working. Agnihotri reportedly pushed Vinay Kumar's name to the high command.

The chief minister, on the other hand, had been backing his own lot —Suresh Kumar and Vinod Sultanpuri, both first-time MLAs belonging to the Scheduled Caste community.

Two other prominent names, which were also under close consideration for a choice as the new PCC chief, included Rohit Thakur, the state’s education minister, and former state Congress president Kuldeep Rathore. Both hailed from the Shimla district and the state’s apple belt.

Thakur is the grandson of former Chief Minister Thakur Ram Lal. He had also agreed to quit his ministerial post to become the state Congress president, but apparently, both he and Rathore did not find favour with Sukhu, who instead also tried to lobby for Sanjay Awasthi, MLA from Arki and his staunch lieutenant.

But more than anything, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge insisted on making a Dalit as the party face in the state with an eye on the next assembly elections in the state.

This appointment was pending for a long time, as there was no State Congress Committee in the hill state after the dissolution of the previous committee headed by Singh on November 6 last year. As the state unit of Congress remained inactive for more than a year, only Pratibha Singh remained the president of the party.

Pratibha Singh said, “I hope that Kumar will take everyone along and live up to the expectations of Congress workers.” She said, “I will meet Kumar tomorrow and tell him that the party will benefit by taking everyone along. I also hope that senior leaders will be given their proper place in the organisation.

The senior leader said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that young leaders should be given a chance, and Kumar is a good choice to connect with the youth.

However, there is no guarantee that this “Dalit card” will result in electoral gains. Himachal’s voters’ preferences have shifted between the Congress and the BJP depending on local factors, leadership credibility, and delivery of services.