The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said it will intensify its campaign for the upcoming Chandigarh municipal elections, with Union minister, Anurag Thakur, being roped in to campaign to try and woo the UT’s sizeable chunk of Himachali population.
Sources said that Thakur, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, will join as the chief guest during the first massive program of the BJP later this week (December 10) and will try and garner support from the local Himachali community. Nearly 15 per cent of the total population in Chandigarh belongs to the Himachali community, who can prove a gamechanger in a few wards.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, BJP spokesperson, Kailash Chand Jain, said that a series of events have been planned by the party on December 10, during which a cultural evening will be organised, complete with the serving of traditional Himachali Dhams (a traditional vegetarian festive meal) at Rally Ground, Sector-25.
He informed that the special attraction of this program will be Kangri, Mandiali and Bilaspuri Dhams. On this occasion, well-known Himachali folk singer, Karnail Rana, is also expected to perform.
According to Jain, deputy convener of BJP’s Himachal cell, Shivinder Mandhotra, will take care of all the preparations for the programme that is also likely to see the participation of Indu Goswami, the national general secretary of BJP’s Mahila Morcha, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP and co-in-charge of Chandigarh.