India
Thakur is a five-time elected MLA and had been seen as a Chief Minister-in-waiting for a long time.
Updated : Dec 24, 2017, 02:28 PM IST
Five-time BJP MLA Jairam Thakur will be the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh after he was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party on Sunday. The decision was taken in the Legislative Party's meet in Shimla . Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, and state party in-charge Mangal Pandey were present at the meeting.
Jairam Thakur being greeted by Prem Kumar Dhumal, JP Nadda, Shanta Kumar on being chosen as the Legislature party leader in Himachal Pradesh pic.twitter.com/bjZypjt1U6
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2017
Jairam Thakur thanked the central leadership and senior party leaders after being made legislative party leader in Himachal Pradesh.
I thank everyone, central leadership, Prem Kumar Dhumal ji who proposed my name supported by JP Nadda, Shanta Kumar ji: Jairam Thakur #Himachal pic.twitter.com/ZctjfaTNjV
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2017
Earlier, top state leaders, including former CM Shanta Kumar and Virender Kashyap, had categorically told Sitharaman that "only elected member should be made the Chief Minister".
Seraj MLA Jai Ram Thakur, 52, is the real representative of the young generation, maintain many party leaders in Madhya Pradesh.
Thakur is a five-time elected MLA and had been seen as a Chief Minister-in-waiting for a long time.
While former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had last night opted out of the race, Thakur, a MLA from Seraj in Mandi district, and Union minister J P Nadda were the frontrunners for the chief minister's office.
A lack of consensus among the newly elected MLAs had resulted in the two central observers -- Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Singh Tomar -- returning to Delhi from Shimla yesterday to hold fresh consultation with the central leadership.
A two-member team of central observers, which was in the state on December 21 and 22, had taken feedback from members of the state BJP's core committee, MPs and some MLAs. The BJP ousted the Congress from power by winning 44 out of the 68 seats.
(With PTI inputs)