Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that the BJP will replace its sitting Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur with Anurag Thakur as it is terrified by the performance of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). “Arvind Kejriwal Ji went to Himachal Pradesh yesterday and received a great response. The BJP got so terrified that it’s going to change its chief minister there. Our trusted sources told us that after CM Jai Ram Thakur’s failure of 4.5 years, BJP will make Anurag Thakur as Himachal Pradesh CM,” he said.
Jai Ram Thakur, however, dismissed Sisodia’s claim.
Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur, Anurag Thakur is Union Minister of Sports, and Minister of Information and Broadcasting. He is also the son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, former chief minister of Himachal.
Himachal will go to polls later this year. So far, the state has seen a bipolar contest between the Congress and the BJP. However, the AAP is a lateral entrant which is trying to replace the Congress and make inroads in the state. The AAP also contested in Uttarakhand, but failed to make any impact. However, its overwhelming win in Punjab has boosted the morale of the party.
On Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann held a road show in Mandi, home district of BJP’s sitting CM Jai Ram Thakur. Addressing the crowd at Seri Chowk, Kejriwal urged the people to elect the AAP in Himachal if they want corruption eradicated from the state.
He said his party does not know how to do politics but knows how to work and wipe out corruption. “If you want to get rid of corruption in Himachal Pradesh, elect AAP candidates to form an honest government in the coming elections…we know how to create good schools, excellent hospitals, uninterrupted water and power supplies,” he said.
In the last assembly polls, the BJP had won 44 of 68 seats with nearly 49 per cent vote share.
