On March 12th, Haryana’s sitting chief minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, submitted his resignation to the state governor, Bandaru Dattatreya. Soon after, the state BJP chief, Nayab Singh Saini, was announced to take the oath as the state’s new chief minister and the party’s legislative leader. The new government enjoys the support of 6 independent MLAs and Haryana Lokhit Party’s (HLP) Gopal Kanda to gain a comfortable majority in the house.
The development comes in the backdrop of growing tensions between the BJP-JJP coalition over seat sharing in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. As Nayab Singh Saini took the oath on Tuesday, he tweeted a note of thanks to the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and the seven outside MLAs supporting his government. The new chief minister is set to appear for a floor test today, March 13, and prove his majority in the assembly.
What’s Behind the Overturn?
The Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP-JJP government had 51 sitting MLAs in the Haryana assembly. 41 of these belonged to the BJP, while the remaining 10 belonged to the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). The alliance had come into being when the BJP fell short of a majority in the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections. However, after reaching no middle ground for seat-sharing in the upcoming general election, the BJP decided to snap ties with its partner. It’s reported that the JJP wanted to contest 2 out of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. The BJP, which had previously won all 10 seats, felt comfortable contesting all 10 seats alone.
The rift allegedly centred around two seats: Hisar and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. The JJP, citing its strong presence in the area and following the defection of the sitting BJP MP from Hisar, Bijdendra Singh, proposed to contest on these two seats. The BJP, however, refused to agree to the arithmetic.
Who’s Nayab Singh Saini?
The Bharatiya Janta Party’s state president in Haryana, Nayab Singh Saini, is a sitting Member of Parliament from the Kurukshetra constituency. The 54-year-old low-profile politician is a renowned OBC leader in the state. The leader assumed the role of his party’s state president in October 2023. Nayab Singh Sainin worked closely with Manohar Lal Khattar and brings significant administrative experience. He served as an MLA from Naraingarh (2014–19), MoS of the Haryana Government (2015–19), and MP from Kurukshetra (2019–24).
With a new chief minister, the Haryana government’s cabinet will witness a fresh revamp. Along with Nayab Singh Saini, Mool Chand Sharma, Ranjit Singh Chautala, Jai Prakash Dalal, Kanwal Pal Gujrar, and Dr. Banwari Lal,.
A Glimpse At Manohar Lal Khattar’s Legacy
Manohar Lal Khattar served as the 10th chief minister of Haryana and also the first from the BJP in the state. A stalwart of the state’s politics, his reign as the chief minister lasted from 2014-2024. The efforts to curb graft and promote merit-based job allocation was one of the highlighting factors of his tenure. With a BJP government in the centre and a cordial relationship with the prime minister, the government recruitment system is believed to have achieved considerable streamlining under ML Khattar. Amid ripe speculations, the now former CM is expected to contest in the next Lok Sabha elections from the Karnal constituency.
