At the three-day conclave of the BJP’s state unit - concluded on Saturday - in Manali, the party resolved to go into the poll mode with Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal as its star campaigner as well as the principal executor.

There are valid reasons for the party to bank on Dhumal. After all, he was instrumental in bringing the party back to power. He also enjoys the support of veteran leader and former chief minister Shanta Kumar. Less than six months into power, the party has registered a win in Hamirpur — a parliamentary seat vacated by Dhumal and now won by his son, Anurag Thakur.

The state has four Lok Sabha seats, three of which are with the Congress. Dhumal has the task of winning all the four seats, like he did in 1999 elections, and send the Congress packing from the state.

The timing chosen by the BJP to start preparing for the Lok Sabha polls seems to be perfect. The Congress hasn’t yet completely recovered from the defeat it faced in the Assembly polls. The anti-incumbency factor against the UPA Government in the Centre and issue of inflation has made the task difficult for the party. A subsequent BJP victory in Hamirpur has further pushed the Congress into serious crisis.

The party, which ruled the state for four decades, also faces problems regarding leadership. The party workers are wondering who would lead them in the next polls? The party has failed to groom new leadership and right now, it is struggling to find a replacement for Viplove Thakur, a Rajya Sabha member, who resigned from the post of the party’s state unit president after the Assembly defeat. Former CM Virbhadra Singh is being sidelined too.

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