Soft-spoken two-term BJP legislator Nayab Singh Saini was re-elected Chief Minister of Haryana for the second term in a row. He will take oath of office along with his Cabinet colleagues in Panchkula on Thursday along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.
As per the unanimous decision by the party's legislative party in Panchkula near here, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was there as an observer, finalized the name of Saini for the post.
"I am very happy that you all have again chosen Nayab Singh Saini as your leader," said the Home Minister during 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.".
However, the BJP went on to win a landslide majority for the historical 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.
The three independent candidates who won seats only gave blank endorsement to the BJP, while Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were blanked.
Saini in his first term was inducted as the Chief Minister on March 12 after Manohar Lal Khattar, along with the entire three-member cabinet of Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), resigned.
With a stranglehold over the OBC community that makes for eight per cent of population, Saini was declared as the chief ministerial face at the public rally held in Panchkula on June 29 by Union Minister Shah.
The Saini caste holds 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 promotion to the top post just ahead of the Assembly polls was aimed at consolidation of non-Jat and OBC votes. In addition, it was an attempt to counter anti-incumbency against Khattar, who has been at the helm since 2014.
In Haryana's caste politics, support among the Jat landowning community accounts for about 25 per cent of the state population and is split largely among the Congress, 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.
BJP's seven-time lawmaker, Anil Vij, the seniormost in the party said that 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.
Saini, who was born in 1970, began his journey in 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.
Saini has already won Kurukshetra, contesting from the constituency and defeating Congress's Nirmal Singh with a record margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Saini met PM Modi and other senior BJP leaders in Delhi on Wednesday after he posted a spectacular hat-trick in Haryana by grabbing 48 seats, eleven more than the Congress.
