Despite losing election, Dhumal still in the race for Himachal CM post

The BJP, which registered a thumping win in the Himachal Pradesh elections earlier this week, is busy trying to finalise its chief ministerial pick.

The shock defeat of Prem Kumar Dhumal, the saffron party’s chief ministerial candidate in the hill state, means fivetime MLA Jairam Thakur and Union health minister JP Nadda are seen as the front runners for the post.

But despite the electoral loss, Dhumal too still remains very much in the chief minister race, as three MLAs have reportedly offered to vacate their seats for him.

Dhumal, a two-time former chief minister, lost from the Sujanpur constituency. The BJP won 44 seats in the 68-member assembly.

On Friday, as BJP observers Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar and party in charge for Himachal Pradesh Mangal Pandey held a meeting with RSS leaders in Shimla, chaos broke out outside the venue.

Supporters of Dhumal raised slogans in his favour, while another group cried “chief minister should be chosen from the elected MLAs, there shouldn’t be any lobbying”.

Party veteran and Kangra MP Shanta Kumar, who is believed to be opposed to any move to install Dhumal as chief minister, said raising slogans in favour of any one leader is wrong.

“Observers have come from Delhi, decision on chief minister will be taken soon...If I was the party president I would have expelled such workers. I did not like it,” he said.

A senior BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity that there is a strong view in the party to pick one of the elected MLAs to head the government in Himachal. The name of the new leader is likely to be announced on Friday.

SHIMLA/NEWDELHI: