NEW DELHI:
Manohar Lal Khattar will be the new chief minister of the northern state Haryana. Khattar, 60, was elected as the BJP legislative party leader at a meeting of the newly elected lawmakers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at its meeting held in the state capital Chandigarh in presence of federal Minister of Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu, who was sent as an observer for the meeting.
Khattar later called on Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki to formally stake claim to form the new government. Solanki accepted his claim since BJP has emerged victorious in the just concluded state legislative assembly elections with majority. He will be sworn-in as 10th chief minister of Haryana on October 26.
Khattar’s appointment as the new Haryana chief minister had become clear on Sunday itself when poll results were announced as the BJP Parliamentary Board decided to go in for a non-Jat as its first ever chief minister in Haryana and opted for him over the state unit president Rambilas Sharma who is expected to be given a cabinet minister’s berth in the Khattar government.
Khattar becomes the first non-Jat chief minister of Haryana in 19 years and joins a select batch of first time lawmakers to walk into the legislative assembly as chief minister.
Khattar’s spotless image gave him an edge over Sharma who in 2011 was named as BJP’s chief ministerial candidate when it entered into an alliance with regional Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC). However, its victory in the summer general elections and good performance in Haryana where it won seven of the eight seats it contested forced the party to reconsider the alliance with HJC. The party decided to contest Haryana polls on its own without naming its chief ministerial candidate while seeking votes on the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who campaigned extensively in the state.
Khattar is supposed to be close to Modi as the two in the past worked together in Haryana and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and have lots in common.
“With the support of everyone, we will give Haryana a good, corruption free government,” Khattar said after the BJP legislative party meeting. Allegations of corruption was one of the main charges against the previous Congress party government headed by Bhupinder Singh Hooda and led to the end of Congress party rule after a decade in the state.
“Have been elected to be the leader of legislature and next Chief Minister of Haryana. Heartfelt thanks to everyone for their constant support! Let us open a new chapter that focuses on good governance and development for all for a prosperous and progressive Haryana. Jai Hind!” Khattar wrote on his Twitter handle.
The Khattar government is expected to have a good mix of all castes and regions. However, the new government may be bereft of Muslim representation since the lone Muslim nominee of the BJP got defeated.
The Jat community has traditionally dominated Haryana politics. Five Jat chief ministers including Hooda together have ruled the state for nearly 34 years while four non-Jat chief ministers together lasted in office for merely 14 years. While BJP fielded 27 Jats in its list of 90 candidates from Haryana but only nine could win their seats, while BJP won most of its seats from non-Jat dominated areas, forcing the party to opt for a non-Jat as the new chief minister.
