Some of his important engagements finalised for Dharamsala include a Cabinet meet, laying the foundation stone for the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and a series of official meetings.

Union Minister for Textiles Shankar Singh Vaghela will be in Dharamsala on January 23 to preside over the NIFT function.

During the “winter move”, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will also fly to Mandi, where Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes is arriving to lay the foundation stone of a Rs 500-crore medical college and hospital project. Only a few days ago, the government had transferred land in favour of ESI Corporation to start work on the college campus and hospital.

Senior officials in the CM’s office said the Chief Minister will be in Dharamsala till February 5.

On January 18 and 19, Dhumal will be in Delhi to attend a meeting of the state BJP’s election committee, followed by a crucial meeting of the party’s Parliamentary board to finalise names of Lok Sabha candidates from Himachal Pradesh.

The name of Anurag Thakur, sitting MP from Hamirpur, has already been announced.

The other probables include Rajan Shushant, a sitting BJP MLA from Jawali (Kangra); Maheshwar Singh, former MP from Mandi, and H N Kashyap and Virender Kashyap from Shimla (SC).