SHIMLA: Former Himachal Pradesh minister Rajeev Bindal was on Saturday formally declared as the state BJP chief.
The announcement was made by national BJP secretary Sunil V. Deodhar at a function here attended by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Outgoing state BJP president Satpal Singh Satti and other ministers were also present.
Bindal replaced Satti who has been Himachal BJP chief for nine years.
A single nomination for the post was filed on Friday by Bindal.
He resigned as state Assembly Speaker on Thursday after the national BJP leadership decided to nominate him to the new post.
Bindal is considered close to BJP's national working president Jagat Prakash Nadda, who himself hails from the state's Bilaspur district.