Month After Amit Shah's "Royal" Dig In Himachal, Congress Picks "Ordinary" Sukhvinder Sukhu

Himachal Result 2022: "Your number won't come," BJP's Amit Shah had remarked about Sukhvinder Sukhu last month at a rally in his constituency

By choosing Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has made a point: That humble origins and grassroots work can be valued over "royalty" and political lineage. This comes even as BJP's Amit Shah, during the campaign, took a dig that SS Sukhu won't get the post as he is not "the son or daughter of somebody". #WATCH | People celebrate in Hamirpur's Nadaun, native place of #HimachalPradesh CM-designate Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu pic.twitter.com/cKOJzthkFs

A bus driver's son from Hamirpur district in a region far from the power centre, Mr Sukhu, 58, once sold milk in Shimla. He began his political career as a student leader at a college in Sanjauli near Shimla, graduating to Himachal Pradesh University campus polls in the 1990s; and then rose through the ranks. 

"A matter of pride that the son of an ordinary family will be our chief minister, thanks to our leadership," senior Congress leader Anand Sharma tweeted, thanking the Gandhis and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

His chief rival was Pratibha Singh, the state Congress president who draws her power from the legacy of her late husband, Virbhadra Singh, an ex-royal and six-time chief minister. Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh is likely to get a significant ministry under Mr Sukhu.