Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur does not rule out possibility of cabinet reshuffle

The Himachal chief minister Jai Ram Thakur did not deny the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle and said his government will work with more vigour now

Four days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a setback in the recently concluded bypolls to three assembly constituencies and one parliamentary seat, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday said his government would now work with more vigour for the general assembly elections slated next year-end.

Himachal chief minister Jai Ram Thakur while not denying the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle, said : :The party will deliberate on the reasons that led to electoral losses and then decide further.” (HT Photo)

“The party will deliberate on the reasons for its defeat in the elections. It happens, sometimes they (Congress) win, sometimes we win. But certainly, my government will work with more vigour now,” said the chief minister after attending the party’s national executive meet virtually at the party headquarters, Deep Kamal, in the capital town.

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, state president Suresh Kashyap and organisation general secretary Pawan Rana joined from Shimla, while BJP state in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna and co-in-charge Sanjay Tandon joined from Chandigarh and Union minister Anurag Thakur from Delhi. Thakur did not deny the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle. “The party will deliberate on the reasons that led to electoral losses and then decide further,” the CM said after attending the meeting.

“Our mission is clear and that is to win 2022 elections. Critical time does not last long,” he said, adding that the party would work on its shortcomings.

Dhumal told the media that he could not campaign much as his cousin had died.“The party will sit and ascertain the reason that led to the defeat,” he said.

Kashyap briefed mediapersons on the national executive meeting. The BJP national executive meeting was presided over by party national president Jagat Prakash Nadda.

In the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave mantras on how to make the party better across the country. This meeting took place after one-and-a-half years due to Covid. The day-long meeting began with Nadda’s speech and ended with the Prime Minister’s concluding speech. Several important issues were discussed in the meeting.

The success of the Central government in dealing with the pandemic, the vaccination campaign and the initiative of the PM for the development of the country and his successful foreign travel were discussed in the meeting. The tremendous jump in economic activities of the country and record GST collection were also discussed.

Kashyap said the upcoming agendas of the party were discussed and the state also gave the statistics of the programmes held to date. This meeting is quite helpful to fulfil all targets of the party in the coming months.

CM releases book

Shimla Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur released book ‘Saudade-A Love Everlasting’, written by young author Simran Agarwal in Shimla on Sunday. Simran is currently pursuing BSc (Hons) in Forestry from Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan.

While appreciating the efforts of the young author, the chief minister said this collection of poems would prove to be a readers’ delight and also inspire budding writers.

The book is a collection of 70 poems divided into eight themes i.e. love, heartbreak, loss, pain, hope, longing, courage and self-love. The book first talks about falling in love, losing that love and what people might feel when they experience heartbreak and later shows how things get better with time if we have hope and courage in life and learn to love ourselves.