Kharge dissolves PCC in Cong-ruled Himachal

New Delhi/Shimla, Nov 6: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday dissolved the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) unit in Himachal Pradesh along with the district and block units with immediate effect.

The move is seen as part of the Congress' plan to restructure the Himachal unit of the party. There has been no change in the PCC ever since the Congress formed its government in the hill state.

"The entire state unit of PCC, and district and block Congress committees have been dissolved with immediate effect. State Congress chief Pratibha Singh will remain unchanged," Naresh Chauhan, media advisor to the chief minister, told PTI.

Pratibha Singh, who took over as the state Congress chief in April 2022, has already become a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party. She is wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh. Earlier, an official communication from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said, "Congress president has approved the proposal to dissolve the entire state unit of the PCC, district presidents and Block Congress Committees of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect."

The Himachal Congress has been plagued by factionalism which was seen during the Rajya Sabha election in February, when ruling Congress nominee Abhishek Singhvi lost the election to BJP's Harsh Mahajan after some Congress MLAs defected and cross-voted in his favour.

Mahajan was appointed one of the working presidents of Himachal Congress when he switched sides and joined the BJP.

Several names are doing the rounds for the new party chief in the state. Some ministers, including Anirudh Singh and Harshvardhan Chauhan, are among the prominent ones.

Reacting to the development, Himachal BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma said dissolving the PCC proved that the party was plagued by factionalism.

"The BJP has been repeatedly alleging that internal fighting in the state Congress was at its peak and the action of the AICC president has proved us right," he said in a statement.

"The balloon of internal revolt has exploded and more troubles are in the offing for the party as Congress workers are expressing their annoyance publicly," he added.