By IANS
Shimla : A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in Himachal Pradesh, factionalism within the party came out in the open Saturday.
While 34 of the 41 newly elected BJP legislators met to formally elect Prem Kumar Dhumal as their leader, seven party legislators including Jagat Prakash Nadda stayed away from the meeting.
The absent MLAs are seen as staunch loyalists of senior state BJP leader Shanta Kumar who until recently was in the race for the chief minister’s post before the high command decided to project Dhumal instead.
“It was decided at the meeting that Dhumal will take oath as chief minister on Sunday at the Ridge ground in Shimla in the presence of senior BJP leaders including Lal Krishna Advani,” said a party spokesman.
The cabinet ministers will be sworn in at a later date.
The BJP was swept to power Friday after it won 41 seats, while the Congress managed just 23 seats. Independents got three seats and BSP one in the 68-member house.