After Significant Losses, the BJP Meets in a Huddle to Get the Himachal Pradesh Elections Back on Track

A worried BJP is taking action to get its election apparatus in Himachal Pradesh back on track in front of the Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled for less than a year from now after suffering three significant polling losses in the previous one and a half years.

JP Nadda, the party’s national president, has been camped out in his home state for the last several days. He has presided over meetings of the party’s core committee and held public rallies to discuss the party’s general election preparations.

Since losing the Mandi Lok Sabha by-election in November 2021 and having the seat taken away by state Congress head Pratibha Singh, the BJP has experienced significant defeats. In the state legislature elections held in December, it fell short once again to the Congress. One of the oldest municipal organizations in the nation, Shimla, which just conducted civic body elections, suffered a humiliating loss.

Because of these defeats, the BJP is attempting to reorganize and even talk to “upset” top party figures, which was thought to be the cause of its defeat in the state assembly elections. Prem Kumar Dhumal, a former chief minister, was even met by the BJP national president a few days ago. As many of Dhumal’s supporters who were competing for seats did not make the list, the gathering in Delhi gained importance.

Nadda presided over the late-night Tuesday core group meeting in Hamirpur to develop a plan for winning all four seats in the state in the 2024 parliamentary elections. The local leadership was advised by Nadda, according to sources, to start campaigning immediately and restart the voting process. According to reports, Nadda instructed the party’s top officials to inform the public about the Congress government’s inability to uphold the promises it made to the electorate before to the Assembly elections. The party cadre was instructed by the top leaders to bring up the matter of the denotification of more than 700 government institutions that the previous BJP administration established.

National Vice-President of the BJP Saudan Singh, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, former Chief Ministers PK Dhumal and Jai Ram Thakur, State BJP President Rajeev Bindal, State BJP in-Charge Avinash Rai Khanna, and Co-in Charge Sanjay Tandon were among those present.

Although it may take some time to finalize the tickets for the four LS seats, initial discussions have already taken place in this regard. Anurag Thakur (Hamirpur), Suresh Kashyap (Shimla), and Kishan Kapoor (Kangra) may remain the party’s three existing MPs, but there is a chance that the party may approve the candidacies of two new candidates for the Kangra and Mandi seats.

When deciding on a ticket, the BJP will also take polls regarding the top candidates into account.

In addition to being the nation’s president’s home state, Himachal Pradesh also has a close relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who oversaw the state during his early political career, and has an excellent working relationship with some of the most senior officials in the state.

At the core meeting, BJP leaders also discussed the reasons why their party lost the Shimla Municipal Corporation election as well as the Mandi Lok Sabha and three Assembly by-elections.

According to sources, the conference also covered the topic of winning over unhappy party officials who have stopped campaigning after the BJP’s loss in the 2022 Assembly elections and bringing rebels back into the fold. But Nadda emphasized that the primary factor in choosing candidates for the next Lok Sabha elections would be their potential to win.