Won't campaign in poll-bound states: Sukhu returns to Shimla post treatment

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who was undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, arrived in Shimla on Saturday after 15 days.

Talking to the media persons here, Sukhu said he would not campaign in the poll-bound states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana as doctors have advised him to rest for two months.

He will, however, start working and meeting with people, the chief minister added.

On poll prospects of the Congress, Sukhu said the party was strong in the states going to polls and would emerge victorious. Voting for the Mizoram assembly polls is already over.

"The doctors have advised me to take rest, eat light meals at regular intervals, divide work and not to work in continuity without a break," he said.

Reiterating that Himachal Pradesh will be made self-reliant in four years and the most prosperous state in the country in the next 10 years, Sukhu said, "We have to get back to work."

He added that important decisions would be taken during a Cabinet meeting scheduled for November 18.

The chief minister also thanked his Cabinet ministers and bureaucrats for filling in the gap and fulfilling all responsibilities in his absence when he was under treatment.

"With the grace of God and local deities and good wishes of the people of the state, I have recovered and come back," he said and wished a happy Diwali to the people of the state.

The chief minister was accorded a grand welcome at Annadale by Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Cabinet ministers Anirudh Singh, Rohit Thakur and Harshwardhan Chauhan among others.

Sukhu was expected to return on Friday but the plan was postponed due to unfavourable weather conditions in both Delhi and Shimla. Sukhu's helicopter was unable to take off from Delhi due to bad weather.

Sukhu was admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital (IGMCH), Shimla, on the night of October 25 after he complained of pain in the abdomen and a stomach infection. Two days later, he was flown to Delhi and admitted to AIIMS.