Shimla, December 8: Congress has crossed the majority mark in Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election 2022 as it leads in 40 Vidhan Sabha seats. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday accepted defeat and tendered his resignation to the Governor. However, the Congress went to polls without announcing its chief ministerial candidate. If the party gets to form the government, who will be the CM? The question that is now doing rounds. Amid the clouds, several names shine bright. Vikramaditya Singh, Leader of the Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, veteran leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, etc. are among those. Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022: Congress Chief Will Decide Who Will Be CM, There's No Scope for Horse Trading, Says Rajeev Shukla.
Now, the party has an uphill task to choose one from the list Amid the suspense over the name of the head of the state, here are the top contenders for the chief ministerial post. Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election Results 2022: BJP Hopeful Despite Trends Showing Clear Victory for Congress. 

Congress Set To Win, CM Jairam Thakur Accepts Defeat:

Who Will Be New CM of Himachal Pradesh? List of Contenders From Congress:

Vikramaditya Singh:
From the Shimla Rural constituency, sitting Congress MLA and son of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya Singh contested against Ravi Mehta from BJP, Prem Thakur of Aam Aadmi Party. Singh is all set to see a second term in the state, as he took a massive lead over the other candidates in the fray.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu:

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a former Congress state chief, is in the fray from the Nadaun assembly seat. A veteran leader, Sukhu is seen as Congress' chief ministerial candidate for the state of Himachal Pradesh. He is up against BJP's Vijay Agnihotri.

Mukesh Agnihotri:

Another Congress veteran, Mukesh Agnihotri is in the fray from the Haroli assembly seat. A four-time MLA, Agnihotri has also entered the chief ministerial race in Himachal Pradesh. Against him is BJP's Ram Kumar.

Asha Kumari:

A six-time MLA, Congress MLA Asha Kumari (67), better known as “Asha Rani” among her voters. Congress candidate from the Dalhousie assembly seat, Kumari is eyeing the chief ministerial post. She is in the fray with BJP's Dhavinder Singh and AAP's Manish Sareen.

Ram Lal Thakur:

Five-time Congress MLA Ram Lal Thakur resigned from the post of vice president of the HPCC in September. Even with that fact, few Congressis see him as the next Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. BJP's Randhir Sharma and AAP's Narinder Singh are in a fight with the Congress leader.

According to the latest trends, Congress has won 11 seats and leading on 29, while BJP has won 11 but leading on 15 seats. The Himachal assembly polls were held on November 12.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 08, 2022 05:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).