Nayab Singh Saini, 54, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Haryana chief and the member of Parliament (MP) from Kurukshetra, and a loyalist of incumbent chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, was sworn in the new chief minister of Haryana on Tuesday evening after the latter’s surprise resignation following the exit of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) from the state’s ruling coalition.
Nayab Singh Saini New CM Of Haryana
Despite the dramatic developments of the day that began with the collapse of the BJP-JJP alliance, the BJP, with 41 MLAs in the 90-member House and the support of six independents, still appeared to be comfortably placed. Saini said the party had given governor Bandaru Dattatreya a list of 48 members who support the government, and asked him to summon a session of the assembly on Wednesday to prove its majority on the floor of the House.
These Ministers Sworn In
After the entire cabinet resigned along with Khattar, five ministers were sworn in — BJP’s Kanwar Pal (Jagadhari), Mool Chand Sharma (Ballabhgarh), Jai Parkash Dalal (Loharu) and Banwari Lal (Bawal), and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala (Rania). They were all part of Khattar’s council as well.
Khattar Welcomes BJP’s Decision
Khattar, however, said that it was the BJP’s tradition to bring in new leadership. “It happened in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh. In fact, I myself had suggested to the party high command that time has come for a new leadership to take over in Haryana,’’ Khattar said. He was referring to the BJP’s practice of bringing in new leaders to curb anti-incumbency, often ahead of major elections.