Himachal, Haryana among 8 states discussed at BJP’s meet

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, March 11

Lok Sabha candidates for eight states/UTs, including Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh, were discussed in the second meeting of the BJP’s central election committee which began in national Capital this evening.

Anurag from Hamirpur, say sources

• A decision on Himachal candidates will be based on Supreme Court’s orders on rebel Congress MLAs. The hearing is on Tuesday.
• Union Minister Anurag Thakur’s name cleared from Hamirpur, say sources. Dushyant holds pre-poll seat-sharing talks with Nadda.

PM Narendra Modi chaired the meeting, with BJP president JP Nadda and senior members of the panel in attendance. Ahead of the meeting, Haryana Deputy CM and JJP leader held pre-poll alliance talks with Nadda at the latter’s residence. The BJP is likely to have an arrangement with the JJP for the Lok Sabha polls in Haryana even though it had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019 polls.

The Sunday’s exit of sitting Hisar MP Brijendra Singh led to clear signals that Hisar could go to the JJP in a pre-poll arrangement in Haryana.

Also on the table were Lok Sabha seat discussions for Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh with sources saying Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur was set to be repeated from his four-term segment of Hamirpur. Other states discussed were Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

The Tribune has learnt that all four Himachal segments were discussed and a plan drawn up with possible consequences of the Supreme Court case on six disqualified Congress rebel MLAs in mind. The hearing is on Tuesday.

“If the order favours rebel MLAs, the situation in Himachal Pradesh will change considerably,” a BJP source said, adding that in the event of rebels winning the case in the SC, more Congress MLAs, currently on the fringe, can jump ship to the BJP, altering the power equation in the hill state. “If the SC order is against the rebels, then even sitting MLAs are free to contest, which means Jairam Thakur could be fielded from Mandi. But if SC order favours rebels, then sitting MLAs are unlikely to be fielded,” sources said, adding that from Shimla, if the party goes for a woman candidate, it could be Pachhad MLA Reena Kashyap. If a woman is not considered, then Suresh Kashyap is likely to be repeated. In Kangra, if an ST is to be fielded, Trilok Kapur will be named. If a Brahmin is to be fielded, Rajeev Bhardwaj would be named, sources added.