Shimla, April 17 -- Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) held a General House meeting on Thursday in Shimla, focusing on strengthening the party ahead of the upcoming Panchayat polls. The meetings, held in two sessions--the General House and a Political Advisory Committee--,was chaired by state Congress president Vinay Kumar and AICC in-charge Rajani Patil. Polls are scheduled to be held in over 3,600 panchayats and 73 urban local bodies across the state before May 31. This was the first meeting after the reconstitution of the Congress body in state. The committee was dissolved in November 2024, along with the district and block units, but the then chief Pratibha Singh was retained as president. In November 2025, Vinay Kumar, MLA from Renuka Ji assembly constituency, was appointed as the new president and the reconstituted committee was announced in March 2026. "Party has adopted a strict 'one man, one post' policy. It has been clearly directed that those already holding positions, such as district presidents or other posts, will not be given additional roles in the organisation," said All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Rajani Patil during the meeting. Talking about the committee setup in remaining areas, Patil said, "The organisation has been formed and in the remaining districts, including Shimla Rural and Kinnaur, committees will be finalised soon. We need to strengthen the organisation at every level and prepare for the upcoming elections, including Panchayat polls," shesaid. Calling for the active involvement of as many party members as possible in the upcoming panchayat and municipal body elections in the state, the AICC in-charge asserted that the responsibility of strengthening the organisation rests with all functionaries, and that they must discharge this duty with absolute sincerity. Himachal Pradesh Congress committee chief Vinay Kumar announced that the Block Congress Committees would be declared soon. Kumar also underscored the necessity for district presidents to constitute committees comprising 25 to 30 members, ensuring that these committees include representatives from all the party's frontal organisations. Kumar further stated that the performance and responsibilities of all functionaries within the organisation would be reviewed periodically, and that future party responsibilities would be assigned based on the outcome of these evaluations. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that since the panchayat and municipal bodies elections are not fought on party ticket, anyone can contest. "Since these polls are not contested on party symbols, the party will not prevent any worker from entering the fray," said Sukhu. Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Centre over the women's reservation bill, Sukhu alleged that the BJP was attempting to derive political mileage by bringing the legislation without undertaking delimitation. Sukhu asserted that the Congress party's stand on women's reservation remains clear and that it will continue to strongly advocate its position on the issue. He said the issue of women's reservation should not be politicised and reiterated that the Congress has consistently worked towards strengthening women's rights....