Rupani likely to continue as Guj CM, Nadda in race at Himachal

Observers have been deputed for both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh to oversee the process of selecting a Chief Minister. The BJP won the polls in both the states.

While in Gujarat, it is most likely that the BJP would go with Vijay Rupani, in Himachal Pradesh a question has arisen after Prem Kumar Dhumal, the party's CM candidate lost the election.

Arun Jaitley and party general secretary Saroj Pandey have been sent to Gujarat at observers. For Himachal, the BJP has sent union ministers, Nirmala Sitharaman and Narendra Singh Tomar.

BJP sources tell OneIndia that in Gujarat, it is most likely that the party would continue with Rupani as the CM. In Himachal, the name of JP Nadda has cropped up following Dhumal's defeat. Nadda had campaigned extensively in the state before the name of Dhumal was announced.

In Himachal, the situation is tricky for the BJP. Such a situation has not arisen in the past. The party is however not ruling out Dhumal entirely out of the race. In case it goes ahead with his name as CM, then a by-poll would be needed, party sources also said.

In Gujarat, several names had cropped up. The names of Karnataka Governor, Vajubhai Vaghela, and union minister, Parshotam Rupala had been doing the rounds. However, the name of Rupani is most likely to go through. Amit Shah in a presser on Monday said that the party had already declared Rupani as the CM candidate during the campaign.

OneIndia News