Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Thursday hailed her party's win in the assembly elections and said the new MLAs will discuss who should be the next chief minister and give their opinion to the party's high command.

Pratibha Singh, the wife of former chief minister late Virbhadra Singh, also told reporters that the Congress government will take the state to new heights of development.

To a question on who will be the chief minister after the Congress won 40 of the 68 Assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh, she said all MLAs will sit with senior leaders, including party observers Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bhupesh Baghel and AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajiv Shukla.

"The MLAs will give their opinion on who they want to see as chief minister," she said.

"So, we have decided that we will sit together with the central leaders and will discuss the matter amongst ourselves. Whatever consensus comes up, we will put that before the party high command," Pratibha Singh said.

Replying to a question, she said the sentiment of the people who voted for Virbhadra Singh's legacy will also be conveyed to the high command.

Pratibha Singh had on Wednesday indicated that "Holly Lodge" – the family's ancestral home – remained interested in the chief minister's post if the party wins the assembly election.

Virbhadra Singh died last year. His MLA son Vikramaditya contested the November 12 polls from Shimla Rural. But mother Pratibha Singh, who is an MP from Mandi, was not in the fray. If the party picks her for the post, she would need to be elected to the state assembly within the next six months. The other chief ministerial aspirants in the Congress include Mukesh Agnihotri, who was the leader of opposition in the last Assembly, and Congress campaign committee head Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu.

"The credit for our party's victory goes to the people of Himachal Pradesh. This election was fought on Virbhadra Singh's name and his legacy, she said, adding that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's rallies gave a boost to the Congress.

The BJP government failed to deliver on the development front. Various sections of society were fed up with them. Inflation broke the back of the common man, she said.

Pratibha Singh, who is the Mandi MP, also said issues raised by the Congress such as those pertaining to women, the old pension system and unemployment struck a chord with voters.

Congress leader Mukesh Agnihotri, said senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, had given him a responsibility when he was made Leader of the Opposition of the last Assembly to ensure that the party comes back to power.

Everyone in the party worked hard towards this aim, he said.

"We will carry forward the politics of development and end mafia raj in the state," Agnihotri said.

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