New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS): The newly-elected Congress MLAs of Himachal Pradesh will meet in Chandigarh on Friday in the presence of state in-charge Rajeev Shukla and special observer and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. At the meeting, a decision may be taken to empower Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate the legislative party leader.

After an early scare, the Congress won 40 seats in the 68-member Himachal Assembly, 15 more than BJP's tally of 25.

State Congress President Pratibha Singh, along with senior leaders S.S. Sukhu and Mukesh Agnihotri, are believed the fornt-runners in the race to be the Chief Minister. After the results were declared on Thursday, Shukla met Kharge and said that the party high command will decide the name of the Chief Minister.

Kharge, meanwhile, gave credit to Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and Priyanka Gandhi's extensive campaign for the electoral success in Himachal.

Prominent Congress candidates who won the elections included journalist-turned-politician Mukesh Agnihotri, former state party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, former Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Singh Rana, Col. Dhani Ram Shandil, and Vikramaditya Singh, son of six-time Chief Minister late Virbhadra Singh.