BJP drops some old warhorses, introduces fresh faces & reshuffles others in Himachal Pradesh

The party’s state unit had earlier taken feedback from party workers on ticket distribution via a secret, internal ballot.

Chief Minister Jairam Thakur will be filing his nominations from Seraj constituency on Wednesday. With the party looking to reverse the trend of incumbent parties losing polls for the first time since the 1980s, Jairam will be the front-runner as the CM.

Two-time ex-CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, who is also the father of Union minister Anurag Thakur, has been excluded from the list. Anurag’s father-in-law, Gulab Singh Thakur, has also been dropped from Jogindernagar. Both Dhumal and Gulab had lost in the 2017 elections.

Senior state minister Mahender Singh has been denied the Dharampur ticket in Mandi district, which he currently represents. His son Rajat Thakur has been brought in as his replacement.

Apprehension about tickets going to defectors from the Congress were confirmed, with both Pawan Kajal and Lakhwinder Rana getting tickets, from Kangra and Nalagarh, respectively.

Forest minister Rakesh Pathania will be contesting from Fatehpur instead of Nurpur, while urban development minister Suresh Bhardwaj has been moved from Shimla Urban to Kasumpti.

In total, the party has fielded five women, four doctors and a retired IAS officer. From Chamba, Indira Kapoor is a fresh face replacing Pawan Nayyar. Cabinet minister Sarveen Chaudhary has been fielded from Shahpur,  with MLA Reena Kashyap getting Pachad and Rita Dhaman getting Indora. Shashi Bala will again contest from the apple belt of Rohru.

Retired government official J.R. Katwal has been given a chance to contest again from Jhanduta. From Sujanpur, where Dhumal faces defeat in 2017, the party has fielded Captain Ranjit Singh.

Dr Janak Raj will fight from Bharmour, while Dr Rajesh Kashyap gets the Solan ticket. Two Ayurvedic practitioners, Rajiv Bindal and Rajiv Saizal, will be fighting from Nahan and Kasauli, respectively.

Senior leaders like Rakesh Jamwal will be fighting from Sundarnagar, while Trilok Jamwal will be contesting for the first time from Bilaspur Sadar.

The party has described the changes in its candidate list as a change in riwaz or tradition. The mixed bag of candidates is aimed at challenging the stranglehold of individual over certain areas, and to maintain the chain of command.

“The Congress is relying on old faces. The confusion is clearly visible on their faces. Family legacies are overriding every other consideration. On the other hand, the BJP is relying on able candidates. The party will return to power due to their leadership,” said state BJP president Suresh Kashyap.