A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the comfortable third term in Haryana, Chief Minister Nayyab Singh Saini, along with the party’s state President Manohar Lal Khattar, landed in Delhi on Wednesday (September 8) to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh is set to take oath as Haryana Chief Minister for the second time on Dusshera, Oct 12, as per reports.
Battling anti-incumbency, the BJP, months before the Haryana Assembly polls, replaced its strongman Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister with low-profile OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini. The decision surprised many.
On Tuesday, the BJP’s gamble paid off with Saini leading the party to victory in the Haryana Assembly polls after a dismal showing in the Lok Sabha elections in the state and defying exit poll predictions of a clean sweep for the Congress.
With just six legislators in 2000, then two in 2005 and four in 2009, the BJP has now surged to 48 seats in Haryana. This performance surpasses even its 2014 breakthrough when the party first came to power on its own.