Shimla, May 29: Contrary to popular perception that the BJP may approach the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections without a Chief Minister candidate, top party sources say no decision has been taken, either way, on the key issue. Any decision, whether or not to project a CM face for the upcoming elections in the hill state, will be taken around June-end when party chief Amit Shah meets state’s leaders to take stock of the latest situation there.
Given the prevailing ground situation in the state, many believe that the 73-year-old former BJP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal may fail to make the cut this time. Age issue apart, it seems a majority of cadres are also against projecting him for the top job for a variety of reasons.
While Dhumal could be out of favour of the senior leadership because of these reasons, similar seems is the case of his elder son Anurag Thakur, the Hamirpur MP. Amid speculations that Union Health Minister JP Nadda is the top man in the running, it remains to be seen whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be in mood to relieve another member of his Cabinet after sending Manohar Parrikar to Goa and Sarbananda Sonowal to Assam.
A section in the party believes the Himachal face would be someone who is connected with the state. It could be someone like Satpal Singh Satti or Jairam Thakur or perhaps also sangh pracharak Ajay Jamwal, the BJP’s Tripura in-charge.Apart from enjoying a “good, clean image”, the state BJP chief Satti is considered an organisation’ man. Former Cabinet Minister Jairram Thakur has the reputation of a good administrator while Jamwal is said to be close to the Sangh, which always has a major say in the BJP’s decision-making.
Source Tribune India
