The suspense on BJP chief ministerial candidate for the Himachal Assembly elections is over with party president Amit Shah on Tuesday declaring former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal as the man for the top political job in the state if the party is voted to power.
Shah made the announcement at a public meeting, putting to rest speculation over the party’s choice for the top post.
“The BJP is going to fight the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls under the leadership of Prem Kumar Dhumal...Dhumal is currently a former CM but after December 18, he will be the new chief minister of the state,” Shah said in his rally at Rajgarh.
The assembly poll is scheduled on November 9 and results will be declared on December 18.
Union minister J P Nadda was seen as one of the contenders but Dhumal’s mass connect and grassroots level work in the hill state seems to have tipped the scale in his favour.
The state’s ruling Congress has already announced incumbent Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh as the next Chief Minister, if the party get majority in the state.
Dhumal, a two-time chief minister of the state, was the leader of Opposition in the last Assembly and known for his realistic approach to the political issues of the state.
Party President Shah apparently had a meeting with top BJP leaders of Himachal Pradesh after reaching Shimla on Monday. Union Health Minister JP Nadda, Dhumal, party State In-charge Mangal Pandey, Union Minister Thawar Chand Gahlot and Ram Swaroop were present in the meeting. The decision to declare party’s CM candidate was taken in the meeting. State In-charge Mangal Pandey and Gahlot proposed name of Dhumal.
The 73-year olf Dhumal, a star campaigner of BJP is known for his quick wits and he had been active in blunting the attacks of Congress in the Himachal Pradesh assembly during the last five years.
Dhumal, who had been representing Hamirpur constituency in the assembly, is contesting from Sujanpur this time. In the past before becoming Himachal Pradesh BJP President after 1993, he also served the party as a senior leader of Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha.
He had first joined the electoral fray as a candidate from Hamirpur in 1984, but lost. But he won the elections in 1989 and 1991.
Dhumal had first become Chief Minister in 1998 and led a coalition government successfully for a full term of five years. The BJP had formed the government in state in 1998 with the support of Himachal Vikas Congress. His first tenure is known for significant development of roads in the hill state and he was even termed as Sadak Wala Chief Minster.
He again became the Chief Minister in 2007, when BJP defeated Congress under the leadership of Dhumal itself.
The announcement of Chief Ministerial candidate by BJP has come as a surprise to many, but the political experts are of the view that the move has been made to beat the anti-incumbency against the central government as the BJP think tank had sniffed a dissent among the electorate against BJP for the decisions of demonetization and GST.