Shimla : The BJP national president Nitin Gadkari on Monday appointed Satpal Singh Satti as the new president of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the party .
Satti 48, is a two time MLA from Una and chief parliamentary secretary in the state vidhan sabha.
He has been the ABVP’s national secretary . Satti replaces Khimi Ram who resigned due to ongoing rumblings within the party .
Senior party leaders seen close to veteran leader Shanta Kumar quit the party some weeks ago and formed the Himachal Lokhit Party (HLP) .
They include ex-MP Maheshwar Singh , ex-minister Radha Raman Shastri , Mohinder Sofat and Shyama Sharma .They lashed out at chief minister Dhumal accusing him of promoting corruption and illegal land deals .
While the target was clearly Dhumal and health minister Rajiv Bindal among others , Khimi Ram’s stepping down is being seen as a compromise move by the high command to calm nerves within the BJP and divert attention from Dhumal and Bindal .
Last week a two member review team of J.P.Nadda and Shyam Jaju gave a clean chit to Dhumal .
They seem to have reported back to Gadkari to ask Khimi Ram to step down as the party has already decided to fight the crucial assembly elections later this year under the leadership Dhumal and would like to back him for the moment !
In a 20 year career published widely. He has worked for the BBC, AFP, The Statesman, IANS and the Business Standard . Known for his hard hitting writing and occasional off-beat stories. He lives in Shimla.
