Shimla, March 29 In view of the upcoming elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies in Himachal Pradesh, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the formation of a political affairs committee, disciplinary committee, state office bearers, and an executive committee after nearly sixteen months.
Efforts have been made to accommodate leaders of consequence from all sections of the party, maintaining caste and regional balance. Besides ministers, MLAs, and other prominent leaders, former HPCC presidents, ex-ministers, and MLAs whose cabinet ranks were withdrawn have also been accommodated.
Elections to Panchayati Raj and Urban bodies in the state are to be held before May 31, and the state assembly elections are scheduled for the end of 2027. The list was released late Saturday night.
The state executive, headed by Congress state president, Vinay Kumar, comprises 27 general secretaries, 12 vice presidents, a treasurer, and 21 members of the executive committee, in addition to in-charge and co-in-charge as ex officio members.
The 21-member Political Affairs Committee, headed by state Congress chief Vinay Kumar, includes Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, all nine cabinet ministers, former Union Minister Anand Sharma, newly elected Rajya Sabha member Anurag Sharma, former state Congress president Pratibha Singh, among others.
The newly appointed General Secretaries include Vinod Zinta, Pawan Thakur, Anita Verma, Amit Bharmouri, Hari Krishan Himral, Surinder Mankotia, and Yash Pal Tanaik, among others.
The Vice Presidents include former Minister Prakash Chaudhary, Neeraj Bharti, Bamber Thakur, Satpal Raizada (all three are former MLAs), Rajneesh Kimta, Paras Ram, Mohinder Chauhan, Jeewan Thakur, Karan Singh Pathania, Amit Nanda, Chet Ram Thakur, and Chander Prabha Negi, while Manav Chaudhary has been appointed as treasurer.
While efforts have been made to induct many emerging leaders, there are only four women who have found a place among the 40 office bearers. Anita Verma, Jyoti Khanna, and Sonia Chauhan have been appointed as General Secretaries, while Chander Prabha Negi was the lone leader among the 12 vice presidents.
The new appointments are expected to give a fresh lease to the Congress organization in the state, which has been defunct for the past 16 months, when all the committees were dissolved.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had on November 6, 2024, dissolved the Pradesh Congress Committee in the state, along with the district and block units, with immediate effect. The new Congress state chief, Vinay Kumar, was appointed on November 22, 2025, after more than a year.