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himachal pradesh

south poles in the state BJP. leaders as chairmen and vice chairmen party decides to appoint ad-hoc state
Though Shanta Kumar is not consid- in the boards and corporations in the BJP chief, present state chief Satpal Satti
ered influential in the state now, it was he coming days to give representation to may be ‘’adjusted’’ in the government.
who had strongly opposed the appoint- those areas which could not get min- Sources say that he may be given
ment of Dhumal as chief minister in De- isterial berths during the formation the coveted post of the Chairman of 20
cember 2017. It is said that even a section of the cabinet. With the total strength Point Programme Committee.
in the party high command was also in of 68 member assembly Himachal The coming days are also important
favour of appointing two time chief min- can have only 12 ministers including for chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. There
ister Dhumal (who was declared as party’s the chief minister according to the is all possibility that Shah may indicate
CM candidate before the elections) as the laws and all the berths in the minis- about party high command view on the
CM was keeping in view his services to the try are already occupied. So, CM will functioning of Jai Ram government. Jai
party in tough times but consensus was if a adjust his aspirants on the boards and Ram is well aware of his main oppo-
defeated leader is made chief minister this corporations. nents who are within the BJP. He has
will send wrong message among the mass- Keeping in view the controversy also visited Delhi and met various un-
es. However, now many in the state party over the appointments of parliamen- ion ministers to stress on clearance of
feel that Dhumal would have been better tary and chief parliamentary secretar- various state projects. Though Jai Ram
choice as CM. ies, Thakur has already made it clear is chief minister, he didn’t have any
It is said that Chief Minister Jai Ram that he has no intention of appointing strong group in the state BJP.
Thakur may appoint few MLAs and party CPS in the state. Sources said that if the His supporters, though are making

Chief Minister has
Second chance for Anurag Thakur already made it

clear that he has
The recent appointment of was asked by the Supreme
Anurag Thakur, a three-time Court to step down in January no intention of
MP from Hamirpur, as BJP’s 2017 as BCCI chief after fail-
Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, ing to implement Lodha Com- appointing chief
has given a confidence to the mittee recommendations for parliamentary
discussions in the party that reforms in the cricket. Later, he
former chief minister Prem also resigned from the HPCA secretaries in
Kumar Dhumal is still relevant chief post. Anurag, who was Himachal Pradesh
in the party. After losing as- adjudged as the best MP in
sembly election from his native his very first term remained all efforts that when Shah visits the
seat of Samirpur in Hamirpur isolated in the party. But now, state, they present an impressive show.
district, a bad patch was seen when the party has reposed They are also highlighting various
in Dhumal’s political career. faith in his capabilities and has achievements of Jai Ram government
Despite the defeat, Dhumal given him the responsibility of on various fronts. Sources said that
continued to engage himself in Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, some senior party leaders may raise the
the party activities. The defeat his supporters have become issue of performance of the party gov-
marked a serious dent in his jubilant in the state. Anurag, ernment in front of Shah. There seems
image as he was not only con- son of former CM Prem Kumar to be very less possibility of removing
sidered to be the most power- Dhumal is likely to be the party him though despite questions on his
ful leader in the state BJP but candidate again from Hamirpur
also hold a strong influence seat in the coming Lok Sabha capabilities have worried the Jai Ram
camp. It is said that the RSS has played
among the masses. Interest- elections. Anurag’s appoint- a role in making Jai Ram the chief min-
ingly, Anurag also saw a bad ment as Chief Whip has also
patch in his career when he strengthened Dhumal. There ister after BJP got a thumping majority
was removed from the post of are words doing the rounds in 2017 assembly elections, though the
party had fought under the leadership
national president of Bhartiya that Dhumal may be either
Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), made state BJP chief or he may of Dhumal, who otherwise lost his own
the post he held for three suc- be fielded from Hamirpur in election.
cessive terms. Before this, he Lok Sabha polls.
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