Nayab Singh Saini retained as Haryana CM

Chandigarh, Oct 16, 2024
Soft-spoken second-time BJP legislator Nayab Singh Saini (54) was retained as the Chief Minister of Haryana for his second consecutive term. He will take an oath of office along with Cabinet colleagues in Panchkula on Thursday amidst Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.

Saini’s name was unanimously decided during the party’s legislative party in Panchkula, near here, amidst the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah as an observer.

“I am very happy that you all have again chosen Nayab Singh Saini as your leader,” the Home Minister said at the meeting.

Firm with an election promise with the youth, caretaker Chief Minister Saini said: “I had announced that the results of the recruitment exam of 24,000 youths will be declared first and after that, I will take oath. Fulfilling that promise, the results will be declared tomorrow. The BJP does what it says.”

The BJP won a landslide majority for the historic third consecutive term by winning 48 seats in a House of 90. The Congress was the second largest party with 37 seats, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) got only two seats.

Independent candidates who got three seats, extended unconditional support to the BJP, whereas Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) drew a blank.

Saini in his previous stint was appointed as the Chief Minister on March 12 after Manohar Lal Khattar and the entire cabinet, comprising three members of Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) — stepped down.

With a strong hold over the Other Backward Class (OBC) community which comprises eight per cent, Saini was declared as the chief ministerial face at a public rally in Panchkula on June 29 by Union Minister Shah.

The Saini caste has a sizeable population in Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Hisar and Rewari districts.

“We will again form the government in Haryana, the double-engine government will be here for 15 years. In the leadership of Manohar Lal Khattar, many development works were carried out in Haryana,” said Home Minister Amit Shah as the legislative party chose Saini as leader for the Chief Minister’s post.

Saini’s elevation to the top post just ahead of the Assembly polls was aimed at consolidating the non-Jat and OBC votes. Also, it was an attempt to counter anti-incumbency against Khattar, who has been at the helm since 2014.

In the caste politics of Haryana, the Jat — a landowning community that accounts for around 25 per cent of the state’s population — support is largely divided among the Congress, the Jannayak Janata Party and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

BJP insiders say apart from being an OBC and close to Khattar, old association with the RSS also helped Saini to retain the helm.

Caretaker Chief Minister Saini won the Ladwa Assembly seat by 16,054 votes, defeating his nearest rival and Congress candidate Mewa Singh.

The party’s seven-time lawmaker, Anil Vij, the seniormost in the party, said all the MLAs have unanimously elected Saini as the leader of the BJP legislative Party. “I have fulfilled all the responsibilities entrusted to me by the party,” Vij told the media.

“There was only one proposal moved by Narwana MLA Krishan Bedi and it was seconded by Ambala Cantt MLA Anil Vij in favour of Saini,” Amit Shah said declaring Saini as the BJP legislature party leader.

Born in 1970, Saini entered politics almost 30 years ago. He was elected as an MLA from Narayangarh in the 2014 Assembly polls. He was inducted into the Cabinet in 2016.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Saini contested and won from the Kurukshetra constituency, defeating Congress’s Nirmal Singh by a huge margin.

Saini had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders in Delhi on Wednesday after scoring a spectacular hat-trick in Haryana by winning 48 seats, 11 more than the Congress.(Agency)