Former Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur named leader of BJP legislative party

HP CM Jairam Thakur

Former chief minister and six-time legislator Jai Ram Thakur was on Sunday named the leader of the BJP legislative party, a senior functionary of the opposition party in the state said.

The Congress wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP in the November state polls winning 40 seats in the 68-member assembly. The saffron party won 25 seats and three went to Independents.

Thakur was elected unanimously as all the 24 BJP MLAs proposed his name for the post, senior party leader and head of the election management committee Mangal Pandey said.

A meeting of the BJP MLAs was held here and it was attended by Thakur, state BJP chief Suresh Kashyap, state BJP in-charge and co-incharge Avinash Rai Khanna and Sanjay Tandon, and central observer Vinod Tawda.

In the recently concluded polls, Thakur won from Seraj with the highest margin.