Prakash Javadekar sought help from CPI-M for BJP’s win in Thrissur: Dallal Nandakumar
Speaking to media persons in Alappuzha, Shobha Surendran revealed that EP Jayarajan held discussions with her and other party leaders on joining the BJP.
Days after returning to power in Himachal Pradesh, BJP MLAs will on Friday elect the state’s new chief minister with five-time MLA Jairam Thakur being seen as a frontrunner.
The announcement will be made in Shimla in the presence of Union Ministers Nirmala Sitaraman and Narendra Singh Tomar, who are BJPs central observers.
Although, the BJP had announced Prem Kumar Dhumal as its chief ministerial candidate ahead of the Himachal polls, his unexpected loss to Congress’ Rajinder Rana by 2,000 votes in Sujanpur ended his prospects.
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The two-time chief minister’s ouster brought Thakur along with Union Minister JP Nadda into contention.
Thakur won from Seraj assembly constituency, and Nadda hails from the state and is a Rajya Sabha member.
Initially, it seemed as if Nadda would emerge as the preferred choice for the post but sources said the party was keen to choose one of the elected MLAs, a view advocated by Shanta Kumar during his visit to Delhi on Wednesday.
Seen as a “gentle” and soft-spoken leader, Thakur is closely associated with the RSS and was an ABVP full-time member in Jammu.
Both Sitharaman and Tomar met the partys state unit core committee, which includes Dhumal, state party chief Satpal Singh Satti, all the five MPs from the state and organisation secretary Pawan Rana.
The observers are also meeting the MLAs individually to elicit their views and the leader would be elected by consensus at a meeting of all elected lawmakers, party sources said.
The BJP won 44 seats in the 68-member assembly.
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