Congress MLA Chander Kumar appointed as pro-tem Speaker

Senior Congress MLA Chandra Kumar was appointed on Wednesday as pro-tem Speaker and he would administer the oath to the newly elected MLAs.

Pro-tem speaker is a temporary speaker appointed for a limited period of time to conduct the work.

Chander will function as chairman of the Vidhan Sabha till the new speaker is elected, a notification issued here said.

Six times MLA and former Lok Sabha member, Chander has won the assembly polls from Jawali in Kangra district.

On Tuesday, Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar allocated portfolios to newly elected Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri, according to an official notification.

Agnihotri will be in-charge of Jal Shakti, transport, and language, arts and culture departments while Chief Minister Sukhu has kept with himself finance, general administration, home, planning, personnel and other portfolios which have not been allotted to any minister, the notification stated on Tuesday.

Sukhu and all other Congress MLAs are slated to join party leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan on Friday and this is expected to delay the expansion of the state's new Cabinet.

The Congress has won 40 out of 68 assembly seats, including 10 in Kangra, seven in Shimla, four each in Una, Solan, and Hamirpur, three in Sirmaur, two each in Chamba and Kullu, and one each in Mandi, Bilaspur, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti district. All the regions have to be given adequate representation.