DHUMAL NAMED BJP’S CM CANDIDATE FOR HIMACHAL POLLS
HIMACHAL FACE ‘Confusion’ among cadre prompts move as three other hopefuls left to sulk
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday announced two-time chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal as its chief ministerial candidate for Himachal Pradesh elections.
The announcement was made by BJP president Amit Shah at a public gathering in Sirmaur.
Dhumal, 73, is a former chief minister and an influential Thakur leader who commands support among majority of the BJP legislators. Thakurs, an upper caste community, constitute over 28% of the state’s population, whereas Brahmins form around 20% of the population.
“The campaign for Himachal Pradesh will turn focus on Dhumal and his performance in the last stint as the chief minister,” a BJP leader in New Delhi said.
The state’s ruling Congress has already announced incumbent CM Virbhadra Singh as the party’s candidate.
“Dhumal will figure prominently in party posters now, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” the BJP leader said. So far, Dhumal was one of the four faces from Himachal - along with MP Shanta Kumar, Union health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and state BJP president Satpal Satti - to figure on party posters.
The party had earlier planned not to project a chief ministerial candidate, but a counter attack from chief minister Virbhadra Singh and the growing confusion among party cadre prompted the BJP to revisit its strategy.
The announcement comes as a disappointment to Nadda, the 56-year-old Brahmin leader from Shimla and a member of the Rajya Sabha who was nursing chief ministerial ambition. Lack of a mass base reportedly turned the tide against him.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted after the announcement: Dhumal Ji is among our senior most leaders with rich administrative experience in Himachal. He will once again make a wonderful CM @DhumalHP.