Kashyap is the 13th person to hold the Himachal BJP chief’s post since its establishment in 1980.
Shimla Lok Sabha MP Suresh Kashyap wasn on Wednesday appointed as the new president of the Himachal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, nearly two months after his predecessor Dr Rajeev Bindal quit the post. BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda has appointed Kashyap as the new president of the state unit with immediate effect, the party’s national general secretary Arun Singh said here.
Kashyap, who turns 49 Thursday, said that his primary objective will be to ensure a repeat of victory for the BJP in the 2022 state elections by “infusing new energy into the party and strengthening the organisation”.
Kashyap is the 13th person to hold the Himachal BJP chief’s post since its establishment in 1980. Two of his predecessors, Satpal Singh Satti and former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, have held the post twice.
The post had been lying vacant since May 27, when Bindal resigned on moral grounds due to his association with an accused in a corruption scandal in the health directorate linked to the purchase of PPE kits and medical supplies.
A native of native of Paplahan village in Pachhad tehsil of Sirmaur district, Kashyap is an agriculturist by profession, and his educational qualifications include an MPhil (public administration), the party said, adding that he has also served in the Indian armed forces.
He started his political career as a member of the block development committee in Pachhad in 2005, and joined the BJP the following year, becoming an office-bearer in the party’s SC Morcha. He has been elected as an MLA twice on the party ticket.