As JP Nadda prepares to step down as BJP president, a senior party leader has hinted that the new chief will be elected by the end of February next year. Manohar Lal Khattar, the former Haryana CM and current Union Minister of Power, Urban Affairs and Housing, is seen as one of the top contenders for the position. He is known to be close to PM Narendra Modi and has been travelling extensively across the state to increase his visibility across the spectrum, sources said. Other leaders contending for the role are former Madhya Pradesh CM and union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ex-Rajasthan CM Vasunadhara Raje and BJP general secretary Sunil Bansal.
Farmers agitation 2.0 gets two new faces
The ongoing farmers’ agitation, referred to as 2.0, has seen emergence of two new leaders as prominent figures in the movement. While Jagjit Singh Dallewal represents the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha is being led by Sarvan Singh Pandher. Both organisations have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was halted by security forces. Dallewal has been on a hunger strike, which has now entered its third week, at Khanauri.
Deadline for vacating bungalow extended
The BJP government has extended the deadline for former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda to vacate the official residence he has occupied as the LoP in the previous assembly in Chandigarh. BJP minister Vipul Goel is reportedly eyeing Hooda’s bungalow, which he has been occupying since 2019. Hooda had sought fifteen days to vacate the house. Meanwhile, the Congress high command has been postponing the move to hold a Congress Legislature Party meeting to elect its leader, who would also serve as the LoP. Additionally, the flat of former DyCM and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala has been locked by the state government dept.
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh
hsbajwa73@gmail.com