Lok Sabha Election 2024, Phase 1: Voting on 102 seats underway
In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024, as many as 102 constituencies spanning across 21 states and Union Territories will elect their new MPs.
Five-time legislator Jairam Thakur will on Wednesday take oath as the 14th chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, officials said.
The ceremony will be held in Shimla, a day after Vijay Rupani and Nitin Patel took oath as Gujarat’s Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively in a grand ceremony in Gandhinagar.
Along with Modi and Shah, chief ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states and senior ministers will attend the ceremony to be held at the historic ‘The Ridge’ in Shimla.
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Thakur, who will turn 53 on January 6, is seen as a “gentle” leader and is a close aide of Union Minister JP Nadda who too hails from the hill state and was in the race for the post of CM until Thakur’s name was finalised on December 24.
As per reports, Thakur’s name was proposed by two-time former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and seconded by Nadda and another two-time Chief Minister Shanta Kumar.
Belonging to the Rajput community, who has a significant presence in the hill state, Thakur won his fifth consecutive assembly election from Seraj, earlier known as Chachiot in Mandi district.
He has risen through the ranks and is known for his humble, clean and low-profile nature.
The BJP wrested power in Himachal from the Congress, winning close to a two thirds majority with 44 seats in the 68-member Assembly. The Congress won 21 seats, independents two and the Communist Party of India-Marxist one.
Thakur emerged as a front runner after Dhumal and state party chief Satpal Satti were defeated in the November 9 elections. The poll results were declared on December 18.
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