Nayab Singh Saini: From BJP State President to Haryana’s Next CM Post Manohar Lal Khattar’s Exit

After Nayab Singh Saini was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party, Manohar Lal Khattar’s resignation allowed the head of the state unit to become the next chief minister. BJP Haryana-in-charge Biplab Deb wrote on X, “Hearty congratulations and best wishes to State BJP President Shri @NayabSainiBJP ji on being elected as the leader of the legislative party.” He declared, “I am confident that he will carry out the development work of Haryana that was initiated under the direction of Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar ji, and he will advance the state’s development.” On Tuesday, Manohar Lal Khattar tendered his resignation amid apparent differences within the ruling coalition of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). At Raj Bhawan, Khattar tendered his resignation to Bandaru Dattatreya ahead of the BJP’s legislative party conference.

A BJP central delegation led by former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Union minister Arjun Munda visited the state to supervise the reforms. The JJP, led by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, and the BJP’s relationship worsened after they couldn’t agree on how to divide seats in the state for the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP insists it has sufficient members to cross the halfway mark, even in light of the split with the JJP. Currently, the JJP has 10 MLAs in the 90-member House, compared to 41 for the BJP. Six out of the seven independents also back the ruling coalition. The Indian National Lok Dal and the Haryana Lokhit Party both hold one seat, while the main opposition Congress party has thirty MLAs. There are rumors that this evening could see the inauguration of a new cabinet.

Who is Nayab Singh Saini?

Nayab Singh Saini, the OBC MP from Kurukshetra, was named the state president of the Haryana BJP in October of last year. Saini joined the BJP in 1996 and worked alongside the state general secretary of Haryana until 2000. He then joined the Uttar Pradesh BJP. Having risen through the ranks, he was appointed district general secretary of the BJP Youth Wing in Ambala in 2002 and district president of Ambala in 2005. He held several important positions in the party as a result of his devotion, including district president of the Ambala BJP in 2012 and state general secretary of the BJP, Kisan Morcha, in Haryana in 2009.

Also Read: India Rejects China’s Criticism of PM Modi’s Arunachal Pradesh Visit

After winning the 2014 election to represent the Narayangarh constituency in the Legislative Assembly and being named a minister in the Haryana cabinet in 2016, his political career took off. Nayab Singh Saini won by a margin of more than 3.83 lakh votes over Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Nirmal Singh from the Kurukshetra constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Saini, a minister who first stood for election as an MLA in 2014, is regarded as one of Manohar Lal Khattar’s closest allies. Political observers claim that caste and election dynamics seem to have propelled the Lok Sabha MP to the position of Haryana BJP chief, as Khattar reportedly desired a member of his party to manage the state organization. The Saini caste is thought to make up about 8% of the population in Haryana, and it is particularly prevalent in some areas of the districts of Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Hisar, and Rewari.