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Nayab Singh Saini takes oath as new Haryana chief minister
Nayab Saini was chosen as the BJP's legislature party leader after Manohar Lal Khattar stepped down amid cracks in the ruling BJP-JJP alliance.
Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday took oath as the new chief minister of Haryana, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar. BJP MLAs Banwari Lal, Jai Parkash Dalal and independent legislator Ranjit Singh were among the five ministers who took oath along with Saini at the swearing-in ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.
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Former Home Minister Anil Vij, who had left the legislative party meeting in between, was not present at the oath ceremony in Chandigarh.
"Our newly formed cabinet wants to thank former CM Manohar Lal Khattar. He has given Haryana a new direction and has given the best example of good governance. He did development work in the state without any discrimination," Saini told reporters after the oath ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Saini after he took oath as the CM. “Congratulations to Shri @NayabSainiBJP Ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Haryana. Wishing him and his team of Ministers the very best for their efforts in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Haryana,” he posted on social platform X.
Saini, an MP from Kurukshetra and an OBC community face, was appointed as the state president of Haryana BJP in October last year. He was chosen as the BJP's legislature party leader after Manohar Lal Khattar stepped down resulting in a split in Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janata Party (BJP-JJP) alliance which had ruled the state since 2019.
The ties between the two parties had deteriorated following failure of seat sharing talks for the Lok Sabha elections.
At present, the BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member assembly while the JJP has 10. The ruling combine also enjoys the support of six of seven independents.
The main opposition Congress has 30 MLAs and the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party have one seat each. The BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Reacting to Khattar's resignation, Congress MP Deepender Hooda had said,"All that is happening in Haryana is because the public has decided to bring change. The public was upset with the present government in the state. We are keeping a close eye on the developments."
