ME News Bureau: Shimla: Following his election as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party on Sunday, Jairam Thakur, five-time BJP MLA will be the new Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.
The name of Thakur, 57, was suggested by Mahender Singh and Suresh Bharadwaj and endorsed by the other members. The decision was taken at meeting presided by BJP’s central leaders –Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister; and Narendra Singh Tomar.
Stated Tomar, “Former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal Ji proposed Jairam Thakur Ji to be elected as the Legislature party leader. Shanta Kumar Ji and JP Nadda Ji also supported this proposal”. Nadda too was vying for the post.
The decision comes a day after Dhumal exempted himself from the race for the CM’s post.
Although the BJP defeated the Congress in the state by winning in 44 of the 68 Assembly constituencies, Dhumal lost his seat to his adversary Rajendra Rana. I spite of his loss; the 73-year-old was in the race for the chief ministerial post after a number of loyal lawmakers offered him their newly-won seats.
Addressing the media after he as the Legislature party leader, Thakur, 57, thanked everybody, including Dhumal for proposing his name.
The lawmaker from Seraj constituency had served as the BJP's state chief between 2006 and 2009. Said to be a popular face in Himachal Pradesh, Thakur was credited with striking a balance between the sparring BJP groups in the state.
