New Haryana Chief Minister To Prove Majority Today After BJP's Big Shakeup

1. The BJP’s Nayab Singh Saini, 54, was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Haryana at a rapidly-assembled ceremony in Chandigarh last evening hours after Mr Khattar resigned along with his cabinet ministers.

2. Mr Saini has claimed the support of 48 MLAs. “We have urged the governor to convene the assembly session when we will prove our majority on the floor of the House,” Mr Saini told reporters yesterday.

3. The BJP has got the support of six Independent MLAs, taking its figure to 47 – one over the majority mark in the 90-member Assembly. Five JJP MLAs are also expected to cross over to the BJP.

4. The BJP and JJP had fallen out over seat sharing in the state. While the BJP wanted to contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats, the JJP, which failed to win any in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, wanted at least two seats.

5. The big BJP’s shakeup comes just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in a few weeks and the Assembly elections, which are expected in October.

6. Earlier on Monday, senior BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar, and the entire cabinet – including three members of Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala’s JJP – stepped down after meeting Governor.

7. Sources said Mr Khattar is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections, possibly from Kurukshetra, the seat Mr Saini is vacating.

8. The selection of Mr Saini – an influential Other Backward Classes leader – also represents the BJP’s focus on caste and OBC equations in each state before an election.

9. The JJP has now said it will contest all 10 seats on its own. Mr Chautala is expected to announce details of that campaign at a party rally this afternoon.

10. “I assure you that following the footsteps of Jannayak Chaudhary Devi Lal ji, I will always be dedicated to protecting the interests of Haryana and the people of Haryana. Our efforts for social and economic security of the people of Haryana will continue,” Mr Chautala said in a post on X – earlier known as Twitter.

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