Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini during the swearing-in ceremony of new Haryana government, in Panchkula, Thursday, October 17, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Nayab Singh Saini was on Thursday sworn in as the chief minister of Haryana, after the BJP scripted a surprise win at the recently concluded assembly polls in the state. Saini’s swearing-in, his second this year, saw the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, apart from key NDA leaders including Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and Union Minister and LJP leader Chirag Paswan.
Along with Saini, who took the oath in Hindi, 13 other MLAs also followed suit. In a post on X, Saini thanked the people of Haryana. “First of all, my heartfelt gratitude to 2.80 crore of my family members for their mandate for Haryana's non-stop development… For the third time with full majority, the BJP government will work with full energy for good governance, equality and welfare of the poor," he wrote.
Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office to Saini and his council of ministers in the ceremony held at Dussehra Ground in Sector 5, Panchkula.
Apart from Saini, those who took oath were former Home Minister and seven-time MLA Anil Vij, Shruti Chaudhary - the daughter of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Chaudhary, former ministers Krishan Lal Panwar and Rao Narbir Singh, Krishan Bedi, Mahipal Dhandha, Vipul Goel, Arvind Kumar Sharma, Shyam Singh Rana, Ranbir Singh Gangwa, Arti Singh Rao, Rajesh Nagar Gurjar, and Gaurav Gautam. The Haryana Cabinet is allowed to have 14 ministers, including the Chief Minister.
Before he was sworn in, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and at the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula. He was elected unanimously by the BJP legislature party in a meeting held at the party office in Panchkula on Wednesday. He soon staked claim to form the government.
Saini, who hails from the OBC community, replaced Manohar Lal Khattar in a surprise move by the BJP leadership in March this year. He was appointed so that the BJP could seek to mobilise the non-Jat votes. Before his new responsibility, Saini had also served as the national vice-president of the BJP OBC Morcha. Considered a find of Khattar himself, Saini started as a typist and data entry operator in the state unit office.
This is the first time that the BJP, or any government, has had a successive third term in Haryana. Despite pollsters predicting a sweep for the Congress, the BJP managed to bag 48 seats in the 90-member assembly, with the Congress winning only 37 seats.