BJP MAY REPLACE HIMACHAL CM DUE TO POPULARITY OF AAP, SAYS SISODIA

Delhi’s deputy chief minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was considering replacing Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

Jai Ram Thakur, however, dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader’s claim.

Addressing reporters in the national capital, Sisodia said the BJP was planning the change in leadership over “fears” that it may be defeated due to the growing popularity of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in the hill state.

“We have learnt from very reliable sources that the BJP wants to replace chief minister Jai Ram Thakur with [Union minister] Anurag Thakur as it is scared of the popularity of Arvind Kejriwal and his model of governance in Delhi,” Sisodia said. The Union minister dismissed Sisodia’s remark as “speculations”.

Sisodia’s remarks came a day after the AAP launched its poll campaign in the state with a massive roadshow in Mandi district, the home turf of the chief minister. The AAP is receiving “a very good response” from the people of Himachal Pradesh, Sisodia said. “Changing faces ahead of elections will not help the BJP hide the failures of its government in the state,” he added.

Jai Ram Thakur also dismissed Sisodia’s remark, saying there was no truth in them. “There is no need to react to this kind of statement. I reject what Sisodia is saying,” he said.

Taking a swipe at AAP over its roadshow on Wednesday, the chief minister added: “Kejriwal came and went, the crowd scenes at Mandi were contrary to his expectations. The AAP had created so much hype in Himachal, saying a lot of people would join them but nothing of that sort happened... There were 2,000 to 3,000 people in the rally, the same number of people visit Mandi town every day.”