Union minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday took a swipe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while talking about forthcoming assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Mentioning that the AAP could not open accounts in either Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand during the polls in the states earlier this year, Thakur said the party will “draw a blank in Himachal Pradesh as well”. He also said that his side - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win “more seats” than last time and form government once again in Gujarat.
The saffron camp is the ruling regime in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, and had emerged triumphant for the second time in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand at the polls that concluded in March this year.
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“AAP has nothing, the states in which they have formed governments are in bad shape,” the Union minister was quoted as saying by ANI.
Referring to the “double engine” government that BJP leaders and ministers consistently highlight, he further stated that Himachal Pradesh will get the “benefit of the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre” and chief minister Jai Ram Thakur in the state in the upcoming elections.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to the “double engine” government that BJP leaders and ministers consistently highlight, he further stated that Himachal Pradesh will get the “benefit of the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre” and chief minister Jai Ram Thakur in the state in the upcoming elections.
{{/usCountry}}Thakur is one of the star campaigners chosen by the BJP in the northern hill state ahead of polls. Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP chief JP Nadda are among other campaigners, whose names were released by the party on Friday.
Thakur campaigned in his first constituency in Sujanpur on Friday, and while addressing an election meeting, the Union minister was caught on camera breaking down, remembering the initial days of his political career in the region.
“My father (Prem Kumar Dhumal) was made chief minister from a small district of Hamirpur, and I have been appointed a Union minister. I am a Union Minister in a cabinet that had former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Chandra Shekhar, and LK Advani among its members,” he said.
He added that after reaching Sujanpur, he had grown quite emotional and had to gather a lot of confidence to speak on stage.
Himachal Pradesh will go into polls on November 12, and the counting of the same and announcement of results will happen on December 8. The BJP is looking to make a comeback in the state, aiming to obtain the 35-majority mark in the 68 assembly constituencies.