Rahul Gandhi hugs Pratibha Singh at Himachal CM oath amid simmering tension

Amid reports of brewing tension between the Congress high command and the family of Raja Sahib (Virbhadra Singh) over ‘sidelining’ Pratibha Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hugged Pratibha Singh at the event in which Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu took the oath as the chief minister.

The chief minister’s post was expected to go to Pratibha Singh but she was axed from the race at the last minute as insiders said making her the CM would require two bypolls.

While this projected tension between former CM Virbhadra’s family and the Gandhis, Pratibha Singh on Saturday accepted the party’s decision that Sukhu would be the chief minister and expressed no visible disgruntlement. This put an end to the high drama that was witnessed on Saturday when the Congress Legislative Party was meeting to decide the name of the chief minister.

Pratibha Singh was at the oath-taking ceremony dismissing speculations that she won’t attend the ceremony out of grudges. But she said, “Why won’t I attend his oath-taking ceremony? Of course, I will go. It is my prime duty to be there with him as he takes oath as CM today.” And as she was there, Rahul Gandhi hugged her.

While the CM post missed Pratibha Singh, her son and Shimla MLA Vikramaditya Singh is likely to be inducted into the Cabinet. Pratibha Singh, however, confirmed that her son will be a minister in the said and said it was almost final.