In Himachal Congress, Battle On For Chief Minister. This Camp Fires First

Congress has two contenders besides Pratibha Singh: Sukhvinder Sukhu and Mukesh Agnihotri. That's why the party feared BJP's "Operation Lotus"

After the Congress looked set for a win in Himachal Pradesh, the first shot at the chief minister's chair came from the camp of state unit chief Pratibha Singh, wife of the late Virbhadra Singh who was the party's tallest leader until his death last year. Her son and MLA Vikramditya Singh said, "As a son, I want Pratibha ji to get a big responsibility."

He added, however, on who'll lead the government: "Besides being a son, I am also a responsible leader of the party. We will respect whatever the party decides." 

Having retained his Shimla Rural seat, he gave credit for the win to his late father's legacy. "We have to walk the path shown by Virbhadra ji. The government will work on the 'Virbhadra Singh vikas model'. He must be smiling today in heaven." he told NDTV.

There are two other contenders besides Pratibha Singh — current Leader of Opposition Sukhvinder Sukhu, and Mukesh Agnihotri — which is why the party feared BJP's "Operation Lotus", code for PM Narendra Modi's party getting MLAs to switch loyalties to topple Opposition parties' governments. The Congress suffered this in Madhya Pradesh not long ago.