No minister from Himachal: BJP cadres disappointed

SHIMLA: BJP cadres, who had hoped for adequate representation in the Union Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were a disappointed lot as no representation has been given to the state.

The names of veteran BJP leader and former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar and Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Anurag Thakur were making the rounds for inclusion in the ministry, but their names did not figure in the final list.

Kumar (79), who remained Chief Minister of the state twice and was a cabinet minister in the Vajpayee ministry, was considered as hot favourite for inclusion in the Modi cabinet, while Thakur was being tipped for induction as a youth icon from Himachal.

Supporters of both Kumar and Thakur were disappointed, but put up a brave face and hoped that Himachal would get representation in the next expansion of the Council of Ministers.

Meanwhile, BJP workers and leaders are hoping that reports about elevation of party general secretary J P Nadda as the party's national president would come true.

Nadda, a former state minister, hails from Bilaspur district of Himachal, and was elected as MLA for the first time in 1993 and was re-elected in 1998 as Health Minister.

He lost in 2003, but again wrested the seat in 2007 and inducted as the Forest Minister.

He was appointed party's national general secretary by then president Nitin Gadkari in 2010, and was later elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012.

He was the president of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, party's youth wing, in 1991-92.