Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday dissolved the entire Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) unit in Himachal Pradesh along with the district and block units with immediate effect.

The move is seen as part of the Congress' plan to restructure the Himachal unit of the party. There has been no change in the PCC ever since the Congress formed its government in the hill state.

Outgoing president of Himachal Pradesh Congress Pratibha Singh has already become a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party. Singh, who is wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, was appointed as state Congress chief in April 2022.

"Congress president has approved the proposal to dissolve the entire state unit of the PCC, district presidents and Block Congress Committees of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect," an official communication from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said.

The Himachal Congress has been plagued by factionalism which was seen during the Rajya Sabha election in February, when ruling Congress nominee Abhishek Singhvi lost the election to BJP's Harsh Mahajan after some Congress MLAs defected and cross-voted in his favour.

Mahajan was appointed one of the working presidents of Himachal Congress when he switched sides and joined the BJP.

Several names are doing the rounds for the new party chief in the state. Some ministers, including Anirudh Singh and Harshvardhan Chauhan, are among the prominent ones.

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