Himachal Pradesh: A small state with big problems for Congress

Himachal Pradesh is the only state in the northern belt where the Congress is in power. But according to party insiders, not only is the government running on political crutches, the party's internal dynamics also point to deep divisions, with a section of Congress leaders unhappy with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's style of leadership.

According to sources, the state unit in-charge, Rajani Patel, has submitted a report to the Congress leadership outlining the state of affairs in the 68 Assembly seats of the state and recommending intervention from the high command to straighten out the party's activities in order to regroup as a challenging force in the next year's Assembly elections in the state.

The report is said to have primarily recommended a change in the government's leadership or a change in the CM's leadership style as a secondary option in order to make the Congress state unit a challenging force.

"HP is a small state and therefore much of the national attention is not given to it. But the state from the very beginning has been more or less running like that, where many have not been satisfied with Sukhu's leadership style. It is also because there is no sense of togetherness in the party and Sukhu has not been able to narrow that gap," a Congress leader said.

Apart from factionalism, the party has also dealt with several hurdles after forming the government in 2022.

From back-to-back natural disasters to the state's low financial health, it has been hard for the Congress-led government to meet its promises and take care of the progress of the state.

However, it was in February 2024 that the first political distater was in the making as the Congress lost the state's lone Rajya Sabha seat—despite having a majority—to cross-voting by its half dozen legislators in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.

The Congress took a tough decision through the Assembly Speaker by immediately disqualifying them under the anti-defection law. This was an episode that spurred a major crisis by raising questions about internal party unity.

But the party was soon able to retain its majority in the Assembly, winning bypolls and steadying the ship.

As the government completes four years in office in a few months, political observers point to mounting anti-incumbency against the Congress in the state.

Even though the party has survived multiple crises, the bigger question is how the central leadership will respond, especially as it has already shown considerable interest in balancing the faction-ridden Punjab unit.

"The Sukhu government is facing visible anti-incumbency and right now it seems difficult for the party to stage a comeback, because there is less trust in the leadership and in the governance. Now all will depend on how the high command deals with the state unit and its leadership and how it would prepare a blueprint to contest the upcoming elections," a political analyst said.