After the BJP's Himachal Pradesh defeat, Union Minister Anurag Thakur has been blamed by many party workers of infighting and rebellion. His father and former Chief Minister PK Dhumal has reacted to the criticism for the first time.
"He worked day in, day out," Mr Dhumal told NDTV, breaking his silence after massive trolling of his son on social media.
The BJP lost all five seats in Anurag Thakur's Hamirpur district.
"We are shattered by the party's loss in Hamirpur. The party has taken the loss very seriously. The rebels were unhappy because of how tickets were given. The party is looking at how tickets were distributed," Mr Dhumal said.
"I kept watching and listening to what happened in the past five years silently," he said, appearing to target Jairam Thakur, who lost power in the election.
"We hope that the mistakes made are not repeated. We have nurtured Hamirpur with our blood and sweat," he said.
The Congress won 40 seats in Himachal Pradesh, a comfortable majority, with the BJP at 25. AAP didn't win a single seat.
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