Committee of the Himachal Pradesh BJP discusses potential candidates for the Lok Sabha election

A panel of likely candidates for the party ticket in the Mandi and Kangra Lok Sabha seats has been sent by the state BJP screening committee, with the two existing MPs, Anurag Thakur and Suresh Kashyap, expected to be re-filed by the party.

The BJP screening committee has compiled a panel of names from the two parliamentary seats. The committee convened here last night to consider the names of the likely candidates. There was little debate about the Hamirpur parliamentary seat since Anurag Thakur, a four-time MP and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, is nearly certain to win. In a similar vein, Shimla MP Suresh Kashyap—a former state BJP president—is probably going to have a second chance at running in the parliamentary elections.

Five candidates, including former MP Maheshwar Singh, former Kullu minister Gobind Thakur, Kargil hero Brig Khushal Thakur (retd), state BJP general secretary Bihari Lal, and Sundernagar resident Ajay Rana, were reportedly proposed by Mandi. Maheshwar, who has continued to serve as state president and a former MP, is seen as a formidable contender. Brig Thakur, who ran an unsuccessful campaign against Pratibha Singh in the most recent by-election of 2019, is still a formidable opponent in this battle.

The names of former minister Rakesh Pathania, who lost the Assembly election from Fatehpur in 2022, former Dharamshala MLA Vishal Neharia, Rajeev Bhardwaj (Nurpur), retired employee leader Ghanshyam Sharma, and BJP youth leader Vishal Chauhan have reportedly been forwarded by the screening committee with regard to the Kangra Assembly segment.

The BJP is determined to win all four parliamentary seats in Himachal Pradesh, just as it did in 2019 when it swept the Lok Sabha elections. Only in the Mandi Lok Sabha seat by-election, which was held after BJP MP Ram Swaroop passed away, did Pratibha, the wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, secure a victory. The BJP now wants all four seats in its kitty and is unwilling to take any risks.

Sudhir LS, Kangra nominee?

There have been rumors that Sudhir Sharma, the disqualified MLA for the Dharamsala Congress, may run for the Lok Sabha from Kangra on the BJP ticket. According to sources, the high command will make the ultimate decision on whether to field him, even if the potential is still there.
Before adopting his name, the BJP took a careful approach and looked into all relevant legal issues. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear the six disqualified MLAs’ appeal against their disqualification.