Virbhadra's son is Gen Secy in revamped 'jumbo' Himachal Cong unit

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tuesday formed a jumbo state Congress committee in Himachal Pradesh with former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya being appointed as a general secretary.

The committee under the new state Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore includes 15 vice presidents, 18 general secretaries and 68 secretaries.

Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha, a former MP, have been made permanent invitees to the Himachal Congress committee, along with other senior leaders from the state including former Union minister Anand Sharma and AICC secretary Asha Kumari.

Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri and senior party leaders from the state Vidya Stokes, Asha Kumari, Viplove Thakur, Kaul Singh Thakur, Dhani Ram Shandil, Kuldeep Kumar, G S Bali and Thakur Singh Bharmouri have also been made permanent invitees.

Gandhi also gave his approval to appoint 17 new district Congress chiefs under the new PCC chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore.

Gandhi also set up an 11-member executive committee that includes former PCC chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.

Besides, 14 senior leaders, including former union minister Anand Sharma, from the state have been made as permanent invitees.

Gandhi has already appointed Virbhadra Singh as the chairman of the campaign committee of the state for the Lok Sabha polls.

The vice presidents include former All India Mahila Congress chief Anita Verma, former ministers Gangu Ram Musafir, Ram Lal Thakur, Chander Kumar and Harsh Mahajan.

Vikramaditya, a sitting MLA and a former president of Himachal Youth Congress, is among the sons of many veteran politicians from the state who have been appointed as general secretaries in the revamped PCC.

Among the new general secretaries of Himachal Congress are Rajneesh Kimta, Raghubir Singh Bali, son of senior Congress leader and former minister GS Bali, former minister Harshvardhan Chauhan, Ajay Mahajan, the son of former HPCC chief Sat Mahajan; Ravi Thakur; Vinod Sultanpuri, son of former Shimla MP K D Sultanpuri and Kewal Singh Pathania, a former vice-chairman of Himachal Road Transport Corporation.

Ashish Butail has been made the treasurer of the state unit.