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National » Other States
Published: November 12, 2014 03:35 IST | Updated: November 12, 2014 03:35 ISTFrom activist to Minister, Nadda has come a long way
Jagat Prakash Nadda
He could be the third pole of power in the already polarised politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State
The rise of Jagat Prakash Nadda from an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist in the sleepy town of Bilaspur to a Union Heath Minister has upset a number of senior leaders in the hill State. He could be the third pole of power in the already polarised politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State between the P.K. Dhumal and Shanta Kumar groups, say party insiders.
There are some who believe that he would strengthen the Shanta Kumar group that has been pushed into oblivion by the dominant faction led by Mr. Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur.
The BJP, which came into existence after the failure of the Janata Party experiment in 1980, was led by Mr. Shanta Kumar, who became Chief Minister twice and was considered an unchallenged leader of the party. His supremacy was questioned first by the then PWD Minister and Rajput leader Jagdev Chand. To counter the increasing influence of Mr. Chand, another leader from the district of Hamirpur was propped up by Mr. Kumar. He made Mr. Dhumal, another Rajput leader, to contest and win the Lok Sabha election from the State.
But the BJP’s national leadership preferred Mr. Dhumal over Mr. Kumar in the 1998 Assembly elections and made him the Chief Minister.
After that there was no looking back for Mr. Dhumal, who became Chief Minister twice and Lok Sabha MP four times before his present post of Leader of Opposition. His son also became a Lok Sabha MP. He is now a BCCI joint secretary and president of the Himachal Cricket Association.
But now with the entry of Mr. Nadda into the national political scene, the party cadre are already looking up to him for a leadership role in the 2017 Assembly elections.
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