Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (born 27 March 1964) is an Indian politician. He is serving as the

Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh The chief minister of Himachal Pradesh is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the Governors of states of India, governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' ...

. As a member of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

, he is a 4-time and incumbent MLA from Nadaun assembly constituency of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

. He was the president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee from 2013 to 2019 .

Early life

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was born on 27 March 1964 in the village of Bhavran, Po Kitpal, tehsil Nadaun, Hamirpur district, the son of Late Shri Rasil Singh. He pursued his education and earned an M.A. and L.L.B. Sukhvinder Singh married Kamlesh Thakur, and they have two daughters. In his early life, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu demonstrated leadership qualities during his college years. He was elected as the Class Representative (CR) at Government Degree College, Sanjauli,

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

, from 1982 to 1983. His leadership roles continued with his election as the General Secretary and later as the President of Government Degree College, Sanjauli,

, for the years 1983-1984 and 1984-1985, respectively. He was also elected as the Department Representative (DR) for the Law Department at Himachal Pradesh University in 1985-1986.

Political career

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's political journey began as a student activist when he joined the National Student Union of India (NSUI), the student arm of the Congress. He was elected as the State President of NSUI from 1989 to 1995. His commitment to political and social work continued as he became the General Secretary of the State Youth Congress from 1995 to 1998 and later its President from 1998 to 2008. In addition to his role in student and youth politics, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu served as a Councillor in the

Municipal Corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

, Shimla, for two terms from 1993-1998 and 1998-2003. His leadership within the Congress Party progressed as he took on the role of General Secretary of Pradesh Congress Committee from 2008 to 2012. Subsequently, he became the President of Pradesh Congress Committee, leading the state unit of the party from January 8, 2013, to 11 January 2019.

Legislative career

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu entered the State Legislative Assembly in 2003 and was re-elected in December 2007 and December 2017. During his legislative terms, he served as the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party from 2007 to 2012. He was a member of various committees, including the Business Advisory Committee, Library, Research & Reference Committee, and Public Undertakings & Privileges Committees from 2018 to 2022. In December 2022, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was elected for the fourth term to the State Legislative Assembly. On 11 December 2022, he took oath as the

Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh

Sukhu was a prominent campaigner for the INC in the 2022 assembly elections in the state of

. The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee appointed him

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

on 10 December 2022; he was sworn in the next day, after the INC won the assembly elections.

Ministry allocation

After becoming a Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhu kept around more than 5 ministries under his direct control, including Finance, General, Administration, Home, Planning, Personnel and All other departments not allotted to any other Minister. In his first cabinet meeting, held on 13 January 2023, the decision was taken to restore the

old pension scheme Old Pension Scheme (OPS) in India was abolished as a part of pension reforms by Government of India, Union Government. Repealed from 1 January 2004, it had a Defined benefit pension plan, defined-benefit (DB) pension of half the Last Pay Drawn ...

, fulfilling the poll promise of the Congress. The Cabinet decided to provide OPS to all the Government employees who are presently covered under the defined contributory pension scheme also referred to as NPS. This will benefit to about 1.36 lakh NPS employees in the State.

References