Who is Mukesh Agnihotri? 5-time MLA, Congress loyalist sworn in as Himachal deputy CM
Mukesh Agnihotri was re-elected as Haroli MLA for the third time in 2012 and was appointed as a minister in the Virbhadra Singh-led government.
With the Congress forming the government in Himachal Pradesh and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu taking the oath of office as chief minister, Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of the opposition in the previous Assembly, will become the new deputy chief minister. The announcement came after a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Saturday.
WHO IS MUKESH AGNIHOTRI?
Mukesh Agnihotri has won the Haroli Assembly elections five times in a row: in 2003, 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022 (when Haroli was still Santokhgarh). Mukesh Agnihotri served as Industries Minister in the Virbhadra Singh government from 2012 to 2017. He was previously in charge of Parliamentary Affairs, Information and Public Relations, and Labour and Employment.
Mukesh Agnihotri was born on October 9, 1962, to Omkar Chand Sharma in Sangrur, Punjab. Before pursuing an M.Sc in Mathematics, he received his early education in the Una district. He then went on to earn a postgraduate diploma in public relations and work as a journalist.
Mukesh Agnihotri spent ten years as a news correspondent in Shimla before entering politics. Virbhadra Singh asked him to run for Santokhgarh in 2003 after seeing his political acumen and understanding. He won the election. In 2007, he won the seat again with a majority.
Santokhgarh became the Haroli assembly seat following delimitation in 2008. Mukesh Agnihotri was re-elected for a third time in 2012 and became a minister in the Virbhadra Singh-led government.
In 2018, Congress appointed firebrand leader and orator Agnihotri as Leader of the Opposition. He was also appointed to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly’s Business Advisory Committee.
He was the general secretary and president of Congress’s Himachal unit’s media cell before becoming an MLA. In the 10th Legislative Assembly, he was also the chief parliamentary secretary and chairman of the Housing Board.
