Nadda and Anurag or both? HP sets all eyes on new Modi cabinet

Shimla: Bharatiya Janata Party's splendid victory in Utter Pradesh has certainly brought Union Health Minister J P Nadda to the greater spotlight.

He was the party in charge in UP poll, almost in the role that Amit Shah was assigned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.

The 58-year-old Nadda, known for his organisational skills stands a fair chance for an important role in the new dispensation.

But, currently, all eyes are Prime Minister's next cabinet formation as who will get the representation from Himachal Pradesh. The BJP has won all four Lok Sabha Seats.

Focus is also on four-time MP Anurag Thakur, who has won the seat by a record margin of four lakh votes. His victory was a vindication of his father Prem Kumar Dhumal's resolve that despite his defeat in 2017 assembly poll, the son-father duo holds firm a ground in Hamirpur.

Dhumal had lost his assembly Sujanpur (Hamirpur) and missed his third Chief Ministerial stint.

During a poll meeting at Bilaspur, BJP national president Amit Shah had promised to the Hamirpur electorate that he would carve out a 'bigger role' for Anurag Thakur once he was elected to the Parliament by a record margin.

All elected MPs are camping in Delhi, where Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has also held a meeting with them, and later they together met Nadda.

Besides, Anurag Thakur newly elected MPs – Krishan Kapoor (Kangra), Ram Swaroop Sharma (Mandi) and Suresh Kashyap (Shimla) has also won their seats by the highest margin of 4.77 lakhs, 4.05 lakhs and 3.37 lakhs respectively.

In 2014 poll, Shanta Kumar had the highest margin of 1.70 lakhs and this time his loyalist Kapoor— a Gaddi community leader, has covered new ground, mainly result of Modi factor. Himachal Pradesh, earlier, had also got due representation in the union government. During the UPA-II, there were rather two cabinet ministers –Anand Sharma and Virbhadra Singh.