Legacy in Bronze: Virbhadra Singh’s Statue Cements His Clan’s Clout in Himachal Politics

Shimla: Walking straight past the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the ridge, the statue of former six-time chief minister and Congress stalwart Virbhadra Singh was unveiled right beside it, in the presence of Congress top brass including Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri, Rajasthan leader Sachin Pilot, Haryana MP Deepender Hooda, Rajiv Shukla, and state in-charge Rajni Patil. 

This event underlined how relevant Virbhadra Singh remains even four years after his death in Himachal Pradesh, where he dominated politics for almost five decades. It served as a show of strength by the Virbhadra family, represented by his son Vikramaditya Singh – who is the PWD minister in the Sukhu government – and Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president and his wife Pratibha Singh.

In the past, Pratibha Singh had time and again expressed unhappiness with the chief minister for allegedly not appointing party workers to key posts in the government.

Now, this event was also crucial for Sukhu, trying to pacify Virbhadra loyalists, as he attempts to leave his mark in Himachal politics, following the leadership change after 1983.

Notably, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi attended a public event after many years (around eight years) in Himachal Pradesh. A senior Congress leader, Mukesh Agnihotri, said that the importance of Virbhadra Singh could be imagined from the fact that "Sonia ji and Priyanka ji remained present at the event."

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (second left) with Congress MP Sonia Gandhi (centre) and Rajiv Shukla (second right) in Shimla on October 13, 2025. Photo: PTI

During the speech, Agnihotri claimed that he is a student of the "Virbhadra school of politics".

Even across the political aisle, the legacy of Virbhadra Singh evoked tributes, with former chief minister Jairam Thakur posting on social media to remember the late leader, highlighting the cross-party respect the late Congress leader commanded in the state's turbulent political arena.

Four years after his death on July 8, 2021, Virbhadra Singh continues to cast a long shadow over Himachal Pradesh's political landscape, binding families, factions, and futures in a tapestry of loyalty and legacy. 

A show of unity 

As the bronze statue of the six-time chief minister – affectionately known as "Raja Sahib" – was unveiled in a ceremony in the historic ridge, the occasion turned out to be a poignant show of unity for a fractured Congress party.

The event, attended by Sonia Gandhi in what marks her first major public appearance in nearly six years since addressing a rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on December 14, 2019, underscored not just familial reverence but also chief minister Sukhu's calculated bid to heal old wounds and consolidate power in the state's lone northern Congress bastion.

The air was crisp with autumn chill and the weight of history as Sonia Gandhi stepped onto the dais alongside her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party's general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh. The presence of other Congress leaders like Patil, Shukla, Pilot and Hooda transformed the unveiling event into a high-stakes Congress conclave, where garlands of marigolds and chants of "Raja Sahib Zindabad" mingled with the subtle undercurrents of political manoeuvring.

At the epicenter stood the Virbhadra family, heirs to a dynasty that has dominated Himachal's Congress politics for nearly five decades. Virbhadra Singh's widow, Pratibha Singh – the current president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) – presided over the ceremony with quiet authority, her eyes reflecting both grief and resolve. 

By her side was their son, Vikramaditya Singh, the 36-year-old cabinet minister whose youthful vigour belies the burdens of carrying forward a name synonymous with the state's rural heartlands. The event was, in essence, a grand affirmation of the family's enduring clout – a visual and symbolic flex amid whispers of internal discord, where loyalists gathered not just to honour the past but to signal their unyielding stake in the future.

Yet, the statue's unveiling held equal, if not greater, resonance for Sukhu, the unassuming son of a bus driver who ascended to the chief minister's chair on December 11, 2022, after a bruising assembly election victory. For Sukhu, posing arm-in-arm with the Virbhadra Singh kin beneath the statue's stern gaze was more than ceremonial – it was a deliberate olive branch to a cadre still nursing grievances from a fractious history. 

Their relationship, marked by public salvos and simmering rivalries, dated back to Virbhadra Singh's final stint as chief minister from 2012 to 2017, when Sukhu served as HPCC president from January 2013 onward. What began as a handover of party reins – Virbhadra Singh personally anointing Sukhu as his successor in a Shimla meeting on January 16, 2013 – soured into open acrimony. Virbhadra Singh, ever the patriarch, chafed at Sukhu's assertive style, demanding his ouster as state chief even before the 2017 assembly polls. 

Tensions boiled over in February 2018, when infighting peaked – Virbhadra Singh lambasted Sukhu in public addresses for "undermining senior leaders," while Sukhu fired back in letters to the chief minister, flagging the neglect of grassroots workers and accusing the government of favouritism toward the Raja's inner circle.

The issue of installing Virbhadra Singh's statue on the ridge – where statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Himachal Pradesh's first chief minister Y.S. Parmar, and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee are already placed – had been a contentious one in the state.

On February 28, 2024, Vikramaditya Singh offered his resignation, alleging "humiliation" after the portfolio of youth and sports services was taken away from him and given to Yadvinder Singh Goma without consulting him.

That February 2024 fallout saw six Congress MLAs and three independent MLAs – who were associated members of the Congress party – cross the floor and join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This rebellion shook the Sukhu government, leading to Congress losing the Rajya Sabha election despite having a majority. Those legislators, owing allegiance to the Virbhadra faction, voted for one-time Virbhadra loyalist Harsh Mahajan – who had joined the BJP just before the 2022 assembly elections – and paved the way for the defeat of Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

"Someone who was the chief minister of the state for six times, due to whom this government was formed in the state... they could not find a small space for his statue at mall road. This is the respect this government has shown to my late father. We are emotional people, we have nothing to do with posts... But this is very unfortunate... I am very hurt, not politically but emotionally," Vikramaditya Singh had said at the time.

But Sonia Gandhi's presence made the day special, as Vikramaditya Singh's supporters see him as the future leader of the state. "Sonia Gandhi has not attended any public programme for a long time. But she came here for Virbhadra Singh’s statue unveiling, which shows how tall is the stature of Singh’s family in Congress," said a Congress activist and Zila Parishad member from the Shimla region, Trilok Bhaluni.

"He [Virbhadra Singh] often said that the foremost responsibility of a leader is to win people’s confidence and treat them as his own family – a belief he lived by every single day," Vikramaditya Singh said during the event.

Speaking to The Wire, he mentioned: "Virbhadra Singh was a leader respected by people across party lines. It was a sentimental issue for everyone that his statue should come up at the ridge. Today, I am happy that the work is accomplished. A huge crowd had come to witness this occasion; people across party lines remembered Virbhadra Singh on this occasion. This shows his policies and his way of politics are so relevant even today."

Political commentator M.P.S. Rana said the event sent many messages across. "Congress put up a united show. Vikramaditya Singh praised chief minister Sukhu for his policies, while Priyanka Gandhi balanced both regimes (Virbhadra and Sukhu) by saying that the work culture started by Virbhadra is being nurtured by Sukhu," Rana told The Wire. He added that the event succeeded in sending the message that Virbhadra Singh is still a big factor in state politics – especially in the Congress – and Sonia Gandhi's presence on this occasion has strengthened the family's existence.

Political analyst Deepak Thakur told The Wire that there was a sentiment that the Virbhadra family has become politically weak, especially amidst the talks of appointing a new Congress president replacing Pratibha Singh, “but this event has put back the family’s importance. Earlier, Vikramaditya had said that Congress should appoint a president someone who has some clout beyond his home district, and the Virbhadra family stands out alone in this criteria. Now it is to be seen as to how Vikramaditya Singh carries out the message generated from the statue unveiling event.”

A senior Congress leader, who is a minister in Sukhu’s cabinet told The Wire on condition of anonymity, "Congress in Himachal had Virbhadra as a face for many years. He was even one of the factors in the 2022 assembly elections, but Congress got new leadership. In order to make his own impression, it appeared that the Virbhadra group was being sidelined. So it was important for Sukhu as well as the high command to keep the flock together, and the Virbhadra family is the binding force in Himachal – no doubt about it."

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