Nayab Singh Saini elected leader of BJP legislature party, stakes claim to form govt in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday staked claim to form the next government in Haryana, hours after he was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in the state.

Saini will take oath as chief minister on Thursday, his second time. In a departure from tradition, the BJP had declared that Saini would remain chief minister if the party returned to power in Haryana after the assembly polls.

At a meeting of newly elected Haryana BJP MLAs in Panchkula, Saini was unanimously picked as the leader of the BJP legislature party.

His name was proposed by MLA Krishan Kumar Bedi and seconded by Anil Vij, who had thrown his hat in the ring for the chief minister's post despite the party backing Saini. The announcement in this regard was made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Shah and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav attended the meeting as central observers of the BJP.

Later, Saini met Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh and staked claim to form the government in the state.

Saini had replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the chief minister of Haryana in March.

The BJP secured an unprecedented third term in Haryana, winning 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. The Congress won 37 seats.

During a brief address at the party office in Panchkula, Shah said the BJP is going to form the government in Haryana for a third time.

"Today is an auspicious day for the BJP and the people of Haryana," he said.

Shah said the MLAs unanimously gave the responsibility of the chief minister's post to Saini.

The Union minister congratulated Saini on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party workers. He credited the Modi government's policies for the BJP's victory in Haryana.

The Haryana election results surprised political pundits. Everyone in Delhi had thought the mandate would not be in favour of the BJP, Shah said.

"While the political pundits in Delhi are surprised, I am not surprised at all," he said.

He also lauded the BJP's 10-year rule in Haryana and said during its tenure, government jobs were given without the 'kharchi-parchi' (bribery-favouritism) system, a reference to alleged corruption under the Congress regime.

He also credited his party for ensuring the overall development of the state without any bias.

After Khattar became the chief minister, the foundation of the overall development of Haryana was laid, he added.

"I want to say publicly that there was no village where development work of less than Rs 8 crore was carried out," Shah said.

Haryana is the only state buying 24 crops at the minimum support price (MSP).

Slamming the opposition for trying to mislead people over the Agnipath scheme, the Union minister said Agniveer jawans will get pensionable jobs.

Khattar, BJP's election incharge for Haryana Dharmendra Pradhan and co-incharge Biplab Deb were also present at the meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, among others, will attend Saini's swearing-in ceremony on Thursday.