BJP may project Dhumal as CM in HP Assembly election

Dharam Prakash Gupta

Though Central leadership of BJP has not declared any leader as Chief Ministrial candidate for the ensueing Assembly election in Himachal Pradesh but there is a possibility the party may declare Prem Kumar Dhumal as BJP’s CM face in coming days.

The Central BJP lesdership had projected Dhumal , who headed the BJP government in the state twice in 1998 and 2007 was declared as Chief Ministrial candidate during the elections but this time the party has avoided doing so.

Despite Dhumal being most prominent face of BJP in the state politics the Central party is keeping its options open and weighing options of not declaring the CM’ face before the election and declaring the CM after the election.
BJP is making a serious bid to capture the power in Himachal and its rival the Congress leadership has already declared six time HP CM Virbhadra Singh to be CM’s choice for the 7th time in the election.
The BJP leadership has been saying it would like to have a younger person to be next CM in HP who could be at the helm of affairs for atleast 10- 15 years and Union Health Minister JP Nadda and few other younger leaders are quite active in theses elections.
Many political analysts have been discounting Dhumal as next CM after the election oweing to his advancing age as he is in early seventies and the BJP leadership as a policy had not been appointing leaders over 75 years of age on prominent posts in the government, with few exceptions.
The way election in Himachal are gaining intensity it looks a close fight between ruling Congress and opposition BJP in the state for forming the next government here.

As close contest looks quite a possibility in HP a section in BJP is stressing on the Central BJP leadership to project Dhumal as Chief Ministerial face in the election.
There are reports the Central BJP leadership may declare Dhumal as Chief Ministrial candidate in the coming days .