A senior Himachal Pradesh BJP leader and MLA has asked the party’s central leadership to remove Prem Kumar Dhumal as the hill state’s chief minister —a move reflecting the infighting within the party ahead of the Assembly polls later this year.
“BJP’s rank and file is feeling suffocated under PK Dhumal’s leadership as he is promoting nepotism, regionalism and corruption,” Khushi Ram Balnatah, BJP legislator from Rohru, wrote in a letter to party president Nitin Gadkari.
“If the party is to perform well and repeat another term in the state, the leadership must be changed immediately as only four months remain for the next Assembly elections,” he said. “The electoral losses in last month’s Shimla civic polls are indication that all is not well and there is a change in public mood.
“Shimla is not only the Capital but also covers voters from three Assembly seats. The CPI(M) winning the prestigious seats of mayor and deputy mayor by handsome margins is a clear warning sign of what is to come,” he wrote.
“Discontent against corruption by the Dhumal government has been brewing in the BJP for a long time. In this regard, ex- senior BJP leaders like Maheshwar Singh, Radha Raman Shastri and Shayama Sharma met you last year but you took no action,” he said.
“Eventually, stalwarts like Maheshwar Singh quit the party to form the Himachal Lokhit Party. It was a big loss to the BJP and will affect our performance in coming polls,” he added.
