CHANDIGARH: Nayab Singh Saini is perceived to be a low-profile politician who belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The 54-year-old softspoken Saini rose through the ranks in the party to become the chief minister for the first time in March this year, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar. And he is expected to secure another term as the saffron party’s gamble has paid off with Saini leading the party to a historic third consecutive victory in the assembly elections.
Saini’s win has come against the backdrop of the party’s dismal showing in the Lok Sabha elections in the state a few months ago. The victory also defies exit poll predictions of a clean sweep for the Congress.
Saini, considered an aide of Khattar, was born on January 25, 1970, at Mirzapur Majra village in Ambala. He did his graduation from BR Ambedkar University in July 1996 and then LLB from Choudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut (UP) in 2010.
Saini started his career in the saffron party’s organisational framework in 1996. In 2002, he became the general secretary of the Amabla district youth wing. He also held the position of district president and general secretary of the state BJP Kisan Morcha.
Saini was elected MLA from the Naraingarh assembly segment in 2014 when BJP came to power in the state for the first time. Saini was also a minister in the Khattar cabinet. He won from Kurukshetra in the 2019 LS polls. The Saini community comprises around 8% of the state population. It wields influence in many northern districts of the state.