NEW DELHI: The BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday appointed former Bihar unit party president Mangal Pandey as the in-charge for the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh. Pandey is also likely to find a place in the team of Amit Shah soon.
Pandey is taking the place of Shrikant Sharma, who was the previous in-charge of the party for the hilly state. Sharma after becoming a minister in the Yogi Adityanath led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has ceased to be an office bearer of the party as per its rules. Earlier, Bhupinder Yadav was given the charge of the poll-bound Gujarat in place of Dinesh Sharma, who is now the deputy chief minister of UP.
Pandey has his task cut out for Himachal Pradesh, as the BJP is seeking to wrest power from the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government in the state. However, the BJP is faced with the challenge to reconcile aspirations of party leaders from the state. While former chief minister Shanta Kumar is a member of Margdarshak Mandal of the BJP, the BJP is hoping that there is no factionalism within the party ranks in the state. Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Union Minister J P Nadda are seen as strong contenders for the post of the chief minister in the state.