Congress dissolves Himachal unit after dismal show in Lok Sabha polls

The Congress, on Wednesday, dissolved all units in Himachal Pradesh, releasing members from their roles including the state and block presidents. The party failed to secure a single seat in the state in the Lok Sabha polls, prompting the leadership to initiate a major restructuring of the state unit.
In an official statement, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary KC Venugopal confirmed that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had approved the dissolution of the entire Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), district presidents, and Block Congress Committees in Himachal Pradesh, with immediate effect.
Pratibha Singh is the outgoing state Congress president. She was appointed to the role in April 2022. Singh is also a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body. Despite the dissolution, there has been no indication yet of changes to her position in the CWC.
The move marks a significant step in the Congress’s ongoing efforts to restructure its organisation in Himachal Pradesh, one of the three states where the party currently has a Chief Minister.
The decision to dissolve the state unit comes amid internal factionalism that has plagued the Himachal Congress for some time. This was notably evident during the February 2024 Rajya Sabha election, where Congress nominee Abhishek Singhvi lost to BJP’s Harsh Mahajan after several Congress MLAs rebelled and cross-voted, leading to a significant setback for the party, news agency PTI reported.
There has been no change in the PCC ever since the party came to power in the 2022 Assembly elections, winning 40 of the 68 seats.
This is not the first time Congress has dissolved its Himachal unit in recent years. A similar move was made in 2019, though the party had retained Kuldeep Singh Rathore as state president despite the reshuffle.