Nayab Singh Saini,the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will be the next Haryana Chief Minister. The oath ceremony is expected to take place by evening today. Along with Saini, two Deputy Chief Ministers, other Cabinet ministers are also likely to take the oath of office.
In a fast-paced political development, Manohar Lal Khattar along with his entire Cabinet resigned from their posts on Tuesday morning amid a rift in its alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) possibly over the seat-sharing issue.
Former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar proposed Saini’s name for the next chief minister of the state, reports have said. Soonafter, they met the Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and staiked claim to form the next government.
The now-resigned Haryana Cabinet comprised 14 ministers, including Khattar and three members of the Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala-led JJP.
A new cabinet is likely to be sworn in at the oath-taking ceremony to be held at the governor’s residence later in the day, sources said. Five MLAs of the JJP are learnt to have skipped the meeting called by the party in New Delhi. Several BJP leaders had earlier maintained that party would fight all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Union minister Arjun Munda, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, who have been appointed as observers by the party, as well as BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala attended the legislative party meeting at Haryana Niwas.
After Khattar’s resignation, reports have said that he may contest as the BJP’s candidate from the Karnal Lok Sabha seat in the upcoming general elections.
The move comes amid reports of a split in Haryana’s ruling BJP and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) coalition, over seat sharing ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Khattar had, reportedly, called a meeting of the BJP MLAs at his residence, following which he tendered his resignation.
The BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member House while the JJP has 10. The coalition also has the support of five of the seven independents.
Sarath Kumar-led AISMK merges with BJP
Actor R Sarath Kumar-led All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) on Tuesday merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Following the merger of his party with the BJP, actor Kumar is likely to be named as the BJP’s candidate for the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.
Kumar, who founded the All India Samatva Makkal Kashi party in 2007, had been associated with the AIADMK alliance for a long time. Notably, his party secured two seats in the Assembly during the 2011 elections, demonstrating its political presence in the state.
Earlier on Monday, the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) party announced that it will be joining hands with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran said that the AMMK has offered its ‘unconditional support’ to the BJP to ensure victory in Tamil Nadu. Dhinakaran is also an AIADM rebel and nephew of J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala.
Addressing a press conference Dhinakaran said, “We Amma Makkal Munetra Kazhagam (AMMK) is going to form an alliance with BJP to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and also we have given unconditional support to BJP Alliance.”
