Putting an end to days of speculation, the BJP on Sunday announced five-time legislator Jai Ram Thakur as the next Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh following a meeting of the BJP legislative party.
A senior BJP leader said Thakur was selected by BJP’s central observers comprising Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Singh Tomar in consultation with state party in-charge Mangal Pandey and all MLAs.
Seen as the “gentle face” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Thakur was the frontrunner for the post along with Union Health Minister JP Nadda. Thakur is known to be a close aide of Nadda.
Other names doing the rounds were of party legislators Suresh Bhardwaj and Rajeev Bindal.
Earlier in the day, Sitharaman and Tomar, along with Pandey, met the newly elected legislators and the Members of Parliament to discuss the formation of the government and the Chief Minister.
After spending two days in Shimla, they returned to New Delhi and submitted their feedback to party President Amit Shah.
The BJP won 44 seats in the 68-member assembly.