Shimla: Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Suresh Kashyap tendered his resignation to the party's national president JP Nadda, sources said on Friday. The reason behind his resignation from the post is personal, said BJP office bearers, adding resignation comes after meeting BJP party president JP Nadda.
Amid the news of his resignation, he was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi after a sudden deterioration of his health. According to BJP sources, he got ill after a sudden drop in his sugar level.
He was appointed as the chief of the BJP's Himachal Pradesh unit on July 22, 2020, following the resignation of Rajeev Bindal who had a lackluster tenure. The party suffered defeat in the bypolls to the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and in Arki, Fatehpur, and Jubbal-Kotkhai Assembly constituencies in November 2021. It also lost the Assembly polls held in December 2022. A two-time MLA from Pachhad, Kashyap was also elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019. The BJP is likely to reorganize its organizational structure in the state soon.
Following Suresh Kashyap's resignation, the race for the new BJP state president has started in the state. Municipal Corporation Shimla elections are scheduled to be held on May 2 and the party has to search for a new chief. Amid so many names for the state's new BJP chief, Vipin Singh Parmar, Assembly Speaker in the previous government and currently, MLA from Sulah seat in Kangra district, is considered to be the frontrunner in this race.
Kangra is the largest district of the state and giving representation to this district in the party organization is the biggest reason for Parmar to be in the race. Vipin Singh Parmar has come from student politics to electoral politics.
Randhir Sharma from the Nainadevi seat of Bilaspur district is also said to be in the race for BJP state president. Randhir Sharma is also considered a skilled organizer. He has become MLA for the third time.