Jairam Thakur Will Continue To Be Chief Minister Face: BJP Chief Nadda

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Jagat Prakash Nadda on Saturday said that the current Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh would be the face of the new CM of the state if the party wins the assembly election.

While talking to ANI, he said, "We definitely are in a comfortable majority. The election has been contested under the leadership of Jairam Thakur and he will continue (to be the CM face)."

He also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the latter did not participate in any campaign for the Himachal Pradesh assembly election and said that they (Congress) are careerist leaders.

"They are careerist leaders, realised that they will gain nothing in HP and Gujarat. Once they feel they are winning or can win, they all will come here for credit. They know they won't gain anything. So they won't be seen," Mr Nadda said attacking the Congress party.

As the state alternates between the BJP and the Congress in the last several elections, Mr Nadda thinks that this would change in this election.

"It will definitely change. The people have made up their minds to change the tradition because the development in the last five years can be seen on the ground. So, there's an atmosphere of joy and people want the government repeated," the BJP chief said.

Mr Nadda further said that the people of the state were showing zeal to elect the "BJP" again and wanted to give the party "another chance".

"People of Himachal are aware of their rights and voting right. So, polling is always good here. I see zeal, people want to give BJP another chance. I also see that people love and trust PM Modi and want the BJP government again. I see a favourable atmosphere for BJP," JP Nadda said.

The state started to poll at 8 am on Saturday to decide the fate of 412 candidates for 68 assembly constituencies.

The fight is between the ruling BJP in the state which is looking to retain power ditching the trend of the alternate party coming to power every five years since 1982, and Congress which is banking on its '10 guarantees' that the party listed out in its manifesto to take them home. Aam Aadmi Party is in line looking to leave a mark in the state and thus contesting on all the 68 seats alone.

The challenge for the ruling BJP will be to buck anti-incumbency and change the trend of the alternate government.

Besides these three parties, parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Rashtriya Devbhumi Party (RDP) are in the fray.

BJP brought star campaigners like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also campaigned in the hill state. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit the ground along with other top leaders of the party including Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.

In 2017, BJP swept the Himachal polls, bagging 44 of the total 68 seats while Congress managed to get just 21 seats.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)