BJP Ratifies Manohar Lal Khattar, Devendra Fadnavis As CM Candidates

BJP president Amit Shah was authorised to take decisions and make appointments for the formation of new governments.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary board, here on Thursday, ratified names of Manohar Lal Khattar and Devendra Fadnavis for the post of Chief Ministers in Haryana and Maharashtra. BJP president Amit Shah was authorised to take decisions and make appointments for the formation of new governments. The meeting was attended by Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party working president JP Nadda, former MP Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan, among others. Modi, in his address to party workers, indicated that the BJP would stake claim to form the government in Haryana. Earlier in the day, Shah tweeted, "In the last 5 years, the Khattar government under Modi's central leadership made every effort for the welfare of the people of Haryana. I congratulate the public for making the BJP the largest party and giving it a chance to serve again." It was a not so-subtle indication that the BJP will stake claim in Haryana, where numbers don't allow it to form government on its own. "We have started Modi 2.0 with two wins," announced Shah. A relaxed Modi smiled, defying any presumption of tension. The elections threw up a hung House in Haryana, with no party reaching the majority figure. Whereas in Maharashtra the BJP-Shiv Sena combine is comfortably placed to retain power. In Haryana, the ruling BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 39 seats, but fell short of the halfway mark by six seats in the 90-member House.