CHANDIGARH: With the support of 57 MLAs, Manohar Lal Khattar will begin his second innings as the Haryana Chief Minister on Sunday. Dushyant Chautala will be the Deputy Chief Minister.
Khattar along with Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Haryana BJP President Subhash Barala and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Chautala met Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya and staked claim to form the government and gave both partys' letters to him.
After staking claim, Khattar said, "We met the governor. I handed my resignation which he accepted and he told me to continue as interim chief minister. He invited us to form the new government and on Sunday CM and Deputy CM will be sworn-in in the afternoon. I will be the Chief Minister and Dushyant will be the deputy CM. We have the support of 57 MLAs (40 BJP, 10 JJP and 7 independents)."
Earlier, Khattar was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in the state. His name was proposed by five-time MLA from Ambala cantonment and state health minister Anil Vij and MLA Kanwar Pal and was seconded by the rest of the MLAs.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP general secretary Arun Singh were present in the meeting.
"We will form a stable and honest government with the support of JJP and independent candidates," said Prasad.
The saffron party will not take the support of controversial Haryana Lokhit Party legislator Gopal Kanda. "We are not be taking any support from him (Kanda),’’ said Prasad.
Dushyant’s father Ajay Chautala, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail along with his father and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, has been granted furlough for two weeks. Ajay should be out of prison by Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
Ajay Chautala and his father Om Prakash Chautala were convicted on January 16, 2013 by a Delhi court for illegally recruiting 3,206 junior teachers 12 years ago. They were held guilty of tampering with the selection list of the teachers, nepotism, and favouritism.
The father-son duo was also found guilty of taking bribes from people in exchange for hiring them.
"Due to the model code of conduct, my father’s application could not be accepted for furlough. For Diwali, he will be with the family for two weeks,’’ said Dushyant.
Dushyant became the youngest MP in the Lok Sabha at the age of 26 in 2014 by defeating another dynast Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of former CM Bhajan Lal from Hisar and now he will be Deputy Chief Minister.
He had formed JJP just eleven months back ago after he and his father were shown the door from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
It is learnt that security of the Chautalas has been beefed up at their residences in Hisar and Sirsa.
Meanwhile, sources said that in the new Haryana cabinet, there will be six ministers of the saffron party, one Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant and two ministers (one cabinet rank and one minister of state) from JJP and Ranjit Singh Chautala, an Independent who left the Congress after he was denied a ticket and won. He is the son of the former chief minister and INLD supremo Om Parkash Chautala.