Shimla, 24/10: When the BJP won the 2017 Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur was the central leadership’s surprise pick to be the chief minister after former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal lost the election. But despite 78-year-old Dhumal retiring from electoral politics, the party has not announced Jai Ram as its chief ministerial face.
Himachal Pradesh has not repeated a government since 1985. The party is hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma will help it beat the anti-incumbency.
But with the decision to not announce a chief ministerial face, and Dhumal’s son, Union minister Anurag Thakur campaigning in earnest, party leaders have taken to speculating his return to his home state’s politics.