Former Speaker Rajeev Bindal files nomination for election as Himachal BJP chief

Bindal filed his nomination before Mandi Lok Sabha member Ramswaroop Sharma, who is the state unit returning officer for organisational elections

Former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rajeev Bindal on Friday filed his nomination papers for the post of Himachal Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party president.

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Union human resource development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and BJP national secretary Devdhar Rao were observers for the election but they could not reach Shimla due to bad weather.

Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur , outgoing state party chief Satpal Singh Satti, Urban development minister Sarveen Chaudhary, education minister Suresh Bhardwaj, health minister Bipin Singh Parmar and Chopal legislator Balbir Verma were present when Bindal filed his nomination at the party headquarters, Deep Kamal, on Friday afternoon.

Bindal filed his nomination before Mandi Lok Sabha member Ramswaroop Sharma, who is the state unit returning officer for organisational elections.

Bindal resigned from the post of Speaker on Thursday and will be formally declared state party chief on Saturday as he is the only candidate in the fray.

Bindal expressed his gratitude to the party high command for reposing faith in him. “I will work with vigour to strengthen the party and gear it up for the 2022 assembly elections,” Bindal told reporters.

“I’m thankful to the electoral college, chief minister and cabinet ministers for nominating me as the state BJP chief,” he said.

Satti relinquishes charge on Saturday after serving the longest term of eight years as the Himachal BJP chief. A former legislator from Una, Satti contested the 2017 assembly elections but lost to Congress’s Satpal Singh Raizada.