Haryana BJP president and OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini was on Tuesday picked as the next chief minister, hours after Manohar Lal Khattar and his cabinet ministers submitted their resignations.

Saini, an MP from Kurukshetra, was unanimously elected as the leader of the state BJP legislature group and will be sworn in later in the day, party MLAs Subhash Sudha and J P Dalal told reporters.

Earlier, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his cabinet ministers submitted their resignations to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday. The development came amid speculation of cracks emerging in the state’s ruling BJP and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) coalition over seat sharing ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Currently, the BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member House, while the JJP has 10. The ruling combine also enjoys the support of six of seven independents.

The main opposition Congress has 30 MLAs, and the Indian National Lok Dal and the Haryana Lokhit Party each have one seat.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW