Nadda congratulates PK Dhumal on being elected as BJP's CM candidate

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Tuesday congratulated Prem Kumar Dhumal for being elected as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for upcoming Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

"I give him my heartiest congratulations to Prem Kumar Dhumal Ji for being declared as our CM candidate in Himachal Pradesh. I called him and congratulated on a personal note as well. Under his leadership, we will win and form the government with more than 2/3 vote share in the state," the Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh said.

BJP this afternoon declared Prem Kumar Dhumal as its CM candidate for the upcoming assembly elections. Presently, he holds the designation of Leader of Opposition in state assembly.

"We have faith that the developmental programmes our Prime Minister Narendra Modi started for Himachal Pradesh will be brought to ground level under the governance of Dhumal Ji," Nadda added.

Nadda, who has earlier served as a minister under Dhumal's government in the state, denied being a choice for CM nominee in the party and said he is only trying to fulfill his responsibilities as a Cabinet Minister.

Dhumal has twice been Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh from March 1998 to March 2003 and again from January 1, 2008 to December 25, 2012.

The term of the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly ends on January 7, 2018.