Race for cabinet berths hots up in Himachal Pradesh

DHARAMSHALA: In view of the two vacancies arising in the Himachal Pradesh cabinet post parliamentary elections, the race among the BJP MLAs eyeing cabinet berth has hottened up in Kangra district. However, the caste balance in the state’s politics is playing a spoilsport for most of them.
Kishan Kapoor, the senior-most cabinet minister, has been elected an MP from the Kangra Lok Sabha seat, while another minister Anil Sharma has already resigned after his son contested the parliamentary elections on a Congress ticket from Mandi -- the home constituency of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur.
In the political capital of state, Kangra, several BJP legislators have set their eyes on the cabinet berths, but Rakesh Pathania and Bikram Jariyal are lobbying hard for the same.
Well-placed sources said that Pathania also met J P Nadda in New Delhi recently after the latter was appointed acting president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Pathania is a Rajput leader, and if caste factor is considered, two ministers -- Bikram Thakur and Vipin Parmar -- are already from the same community. Even Mahinder Singh Thakur, Govind Thakur and chief minister Jai Ram Thakur himself are from the Rajput community.
Bikram Jaryal from Chamba district is a Gaddi leader and is also considered a prominent contender for the post if caste factor comes into play. Apart from this, Arun Mehra, the first time BJP legislator who defeated Congress stalwart G S Bali, also claims to be from the same community.
The race for cabinet berth has also started in the other districts of the state, which do not have any representation in the Himachal cabinet so far. Many BJP MLAs from Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts are also vying for the berths.