BJP meets today to decide Himachal chief minister

December 24, 2017 12:13

Prem Kumar Dhumal on Saturday night ruled himself out from the race for the post of Himachal Pradesh chief minister, a day before a meeting of BJP MLAs to elect their leader. Five-term MLA Jairam Thakur and Union minister J P Nadda are the frontrunners for the chief minister's office.

A lack of consensus among the newly elected MLAs had resulted in the two central observers -- Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Singh Tomar -- returning to Delhi from Shimla on Friday to hold fresh consultation with the central leadership.

Although Thakur was seen a frontrunner for the job till recently, Nadda may emerge as the most acceptable candidate in this changed scenario, a BJP source said.

"There is speculation in media that I am in race for the post of the chief minister. I had made it clear on the day of the result that I am not in any race," Dhumal said.

The statement of Dhumal, a former chief minister who was the party's candidate for the job again but suffered a shock defeat in the polls, that he was not in contention has come following a nudge from the BJP leadership, sources said.

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