Bharatiya Janata Party chief JP Nadda on Sunday began his two-day tour of Himachal Pradesh, which votes later this year. where he was seen fixing the nameplate at the house of a BJP booth committee member.
In a 26-second clip shared by news agency ANI, the BJP supporters can be heard raising slogans, “JP Nadda zindabad (long live JP Nadda)” as he hammers the nail to secure the nameplate on the wall at the house of a BJP colleague in Bilaspur.
Amid attacks from the AAP, JP Nadda also announced that chief minister Jai Ram Thakur will lead the party in the upcoming assembly polls, snubbing Manish Sisodia's claim that union minister Anurag Thakur will replace Thakur. "Jai Ram Thakur is doing work and he will continue with it in future. He will not be replaced and the BJP will contest the assembly elections under his leadership," Nadda was quoted as saying by ANI.
{{/usCountry}}Amid attacks from the AAP, JP Nadda also announced that chief minister Jai Ram Thakur will lead the party in the upcoming assembly polls, snubbing Manish Sisodia's claim that union minister Anurag Thakur will replace Thakur. "Jai Ram Thakur is doing work and he will continue with it in future. He will not be replaced and the BJP will contest the assembly elections under his leadership," Nadda was quoted as saying by ANI.
{{/usCountry}}“We have learnt from very reliable sources that the BJP wants to replace chief minister Jai Ram Thakur with Anurag Thakur as it is scared of the popularity of Arvind Kejriwal and his model of governance in Delhi,” Sisodia had said on Friday.
Over the weekend, three top AAP leaders in the state switched to the BJP, triggering a war of words between the two parties.
Nadda also rubbished the rumours of a cabinet reshuffle ahead of the polls. However, he added that 10 to 15 per cent of sitting MLAs' tickets will be cut in the polls. "10 to 15 per cent of BJP MLAs did not get access in the UP Assembly elections as well, and it is likely to happen here too," he added.
Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are slated to be held this year. In the 2017 Assembly Election result, the BJP won 44 seats, well past the halfway mark of 35. The Congress got 21 and others got three seats of a total of 68 Assembly seats.
(With inputs from ANI)