Haryana BJP State Chief Nayab Singh Saini Sworn In As New Chief Minister

BJP leaders Moolchand Sharma and Kanwar Pal Gujjar and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh also took oath as ministers in the Haryana cabinet.

Hours after Manohar Lal Khattar along with his cabinet resigned from their positions, BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday was sworn-in as Haryana's new Chief Minister.

Earlier, while announcing this news, BJP Haryana- in-charge Biplab Deb stated: “Hearty congratulations and best wishes to State BJP President Shri Nayab Saini BJP on being elected as the leader of the legislative party.”

Apart from Saini, BJP leaders Moolchand Sharma and Kanwar Pal Gujjar and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh also took oath as ministers in the Haryana cabinet. 

Manohar Lal Khattar resigned on Tuesday, citing apparent fissures in the ruling coalition of the BJP and the Jannayak Janata Party. Khattar submitted his resignation to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya at Raj Bhawan ahead of the BJP's legislative party meeting.

Soon after being elected leader of the party's state legislature group, Saini met Governor Bandaru Dattatreya to stake claim for forming the government in the state. He was accompanied by Union minister Arjun Munda, BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, Khattar and Biplab Deb, the party's Haryana in-charge at the centre. 

The BJP's ties with the JJP, led by deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, deteriorated when they failed to strike a seat-sharing deal in the state for the Lok Sabha elections.

Despite JJP cutting connections, the BJP claims to have enough seats to reach the halfway point. Currently, the BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member House, while the JJP has 10. The ruling coalition also has the backing of six to seven independent MLAs. The major opposition Congress has 30 MLAs, while the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party each have one seat.

Who Is Nayab Singh Saini?

Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini, an OBC, was elected state president of the Haryana BJP in October of last year.

Saini's involvement with the BJP began in 1996, when he joined the Haryana BJP's organizational structure and worked alongside the state general secretary till 2000. As he rose through the ranks, he became the district general secretary of the BJP Youth Wing in Ambala in 2002, and then the district president in 2005.

His allegiance to the party led him to assume a number of important roles, including state general secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha in Haryana in 2009 and district president of Ambala BJP in 2012.