Nayab Singh Saini to Lead Haryana as New Chief Minister

Nayab Singh Saini will become Haryana's new Chief Minister, the party declared on Tuesday afternoon, hours after his predecessor, senior BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar, and the whole cabinet, including three BJP members from Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala's JJP, resigned.

Nayab Singh Saini to Lead Haryana as New Chief Minister

Nayab Singh Saini, 54, has met with Governor Bandaru Dattatreya to push his claim to lead the administration.

Nayab Saini, a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Kurukshetra, is a significant figure in the Scheduled Caste community. He was appointed the party's state president in October. Mr. Khattar trusts him, and his second consecutive term ends this year.
His appointment for the oath-taking at 5 p.m. was made during a meeting of the BJP legislative party attended by Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda and National General Secretary Tarun Chugh.

Mr. Saini's appointment also underscores the BJP's emphasis on caste and SC representation in all states ahead of the general election. Following the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, the BJP has included lesser-known SC faces rather than established or high-profile candidates.

The Saini community, from which the current Chief Minister originates, accounts for around 8% of the population, with a strong representation in Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Hisar, and Rewari districts.

The Haryana political scene was in disarray after the botched seat-sharing talks and consequent dissolution of the ruling BJP-JJP coalition over the weekend.
The JJP, led by former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, sought two of the state's ten seats, but the BJP would only yield one.