Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini will take oath of office for a second consecutive term on October 17. The BJP is preparing for a grand show of strength at the swearing-in ceremony in Panchkula. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president J P Nadda, all chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states and a host of top party leaders will attend the function, where over a dozen ministers are likely to take oath alongside the chief minister.
Sources indicate that the party has decided to induct two Punjabis, two Jats, two Yadavs, two Dalits, two BCs, one Brahmin, one Gujar and one MLA from the Vaish community in the ministry. Among the frontrunner are Krishan Lal Middha, Vinod Bhayana and Anil Vij from the Punjabi community; Shruti Choudhry and Mahipal Dhanda from the Jat MLAs; Arti Singh Rao and Rao Narbir Singh from Yadavs; Arvind Sharma, Shakti Rani Sharma and Gaurav Gautam from the Brahmins; Krishan Lal Panwar and Krishan Bedi from Dalit community;
Tejpal Tanwar and Manmohan Bhadana from Gujars; Ranbir Singh Gangwa and Harvinder Kalyan from backward classes; and Ghanshyam Saraf and Vipul Goel from the Vaish community. According to sources, these names have been shortlisted by the state leadership in consultation with the state in-charge. A final decision will be taken by the party’s central leadership. The state can have 14 ministers, including the chief minister, as the 91st Constitutional amendment limited the size of the ministry to 15% of the total strength of the House.
Congress Debacle
No AICC accountability; axe may fall on PCC
The story of the unexpected results of Haryana elections was aptly described by a senior politician in following words: Jeetne walon ko nahi pata tha ki woh jeet rahe hain, aur harne walon ko nahi pata tha ki woh haar rahe hain. (The winners did not know they were winning, and the losers had no clue they were losing).
Shamsher Singh Gogi, the Congress candidate from Assandh assembly constituency who lost the election by 2,306 votes, summed up his party’s sentiment when he said “Haryana mein Hooda Congress hari hai, Congress nahi” (it is not the Congress that is defeated in Haryana, but Hooda’s Congress). When elections were announced in Haryana, all polls and pundits predicted a Congress victory.
Discussions in Congress revolved around whether there would be a hawa (favourable wind), aandhi (wave) aur a Tsunami in favour of the Congress. Congressmen were convinced of their party’s victory. This, according to some, led to fear in Bhupinder Hooda camp that a big win for the party may give central leadership a free hand to choose the next chief minister. “Congress is baar Hooda ka Bhajan Lal banayegi” (Congress will do to Hooda what it did to Bhajan Lal) became a common refrain.
Bhajan Lal had led the Congress to victory in 2005, but was denied chief ministership. When nominations started, the Congress faced a large number of rebel candidates, 27 to be precise. There were whispers that the rebels had been fielded by Hooda camp to keep the party’s numbers close to the majority mark.
Election results indicate that the presence of Congress rebels contributed to the party’s defeat in 17 constituencies. There was of course a counter consolidation of castes in favour of the BJP against the Jat-led Congress. Hooda’s earlier statement from a public platform that he was a ‘Jat first and a CM later’ came in handy for the BJP for anti-Jat polarisation.
Shahid Faridi
The writer is Resident Editor
TNIE, New Delhi.
Follow him on X @Shahid_Faridi_