SHIMLA, Dec 24 - BJP leader Jairam Thakur, who sprinted past party stalwarts in the race to the chief minister�s office in Himachal Pradesh today, will be the first leader from the politically-significant region of Mandi to helm the hill state.
The 52-year-old five-time MLA from Seraj in Mandi emerged as one of the frontrunners for the top post after the defeat of BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal in the 2017 Assembly polls, the results of which were announced last week.
Dhumal, who was expected to take over as the chief minister before the defeat, was in the reckoning till last night, when he opted out. A section of party legislators had backed the former chief minister.
Union minister J P Nadda was also said to have been in the running for the top office.
Thakur, a former state unit chief and rural development and panchayati raj minister in a government headed by Dhumal, is a Rajpur leader considered close to the RSS.
He was elected leader of the BJP legislature party today.
The decision was taken at a meeting of BJP MLAs. Thakur�s name was proposed by Suresh Bhardwaj and Mahender Singh and seconded by other members. � PTI
