BJP chose Dhumal as CM face to boost cadres

NEW DELHI: Ear to the ground, a belated realisation, and some behind the scenes manoeuvring prompted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prop up veteran Prem Kumar Dhumal as its chief ministerial candidate in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

The need to inject enthusiasm among BJP workers, who were confronted with confusion about the face, and keep the house united was the most compelling reason behind the last minute change in strategy — from the earlier position of not declaring a CM candidate.

Few calculations on the drawing board and a feedback taken over last 10 days made the BJP leadership realise Dhumal was their best bet, a party leader involved in Himachal Pradesh election told the Hindustan Times.

There were at least four claimants for the chief minister’s post. Kangra strongman Shanta Kumar was ruled out, given that he has passed the undeclared age bar of 75 in the BJP to take up ministerial jobs. His ‘anger’ at being sidelined had cost the party dearly in the 2012 assembly election.

The BJP could win just three out of 15 assembly seats in Kangra, as rebel candidates played spoilsports.

Kumar threw some tantrums ahead of ticket distribution this time as well but Amit Shah and his managers swung into action. Kumar was taken on board and his men got tickets. So far so good.

The saffron party’s organisational secretary for northeast Ajay Jamwal, a leader from Himachal, was considered a dark horse but he needed a three-year break from his current responsibility as a RSS pracharak (volunteer) to take up a political role.

That left the BJP with two options — Dhumal and Union health minister JP Nadda.

Between them, Dhumal came from a dominant caste of Thakurs who are over 28% of the state’s population. The former CM figured higher than Nadda in popularity ratings.