ACTION PUNJAB NEWS Desk: Amidst a whirlwind of political maneuvers, Nayab Singh Saini, aged 54, took the oath as the new Chief Minister of Haryana in a hastily arranged ceremony held in Chandigarh on Tuesday evening. This abrupt transition followed the resignation earlier in the day of his predecessor, Manohar Lal Khattar, along with the entire cabinet.

The incoming government is anticipated to receive support from six independent lawmakers and potentially five MLAs from the JJP, although the latter are not expected to be granted ministerial positions. With the BJP already holding 41 seats in the 90-member House, surpassing the majority mark set at 46, the new administration appears poised to assume power smoothly.

Khattar’s resignation, along with that of his ministers, stemmed from a breakdown in the ruling BJP-JJP alliance, triggered by failed negotiations over seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, this change in leadership is also viewed as a strategic move within the BJP’s electoral playbook.

Historically, the party has often rotated chief ministers and reorganized cabinets prior to assembly elections, aiming to counteract anti-incumbency sentiments and revitalize state units and leadership. Similar tactics were employed in Gujarat and Uttarakhand, where the BJP emerged victorious, and in Karnataka, where it faced defeat.

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The selection of Nayab Singh Saini, a prominent leader from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), underscores the BJP’s strategic focus on caste dynamics and OBC representation in each state ahead of elections. Comparable strategies were observed in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh following electoral victories.

In a notable departure, the BJP opted against reinstating former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and replaced four-time Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh.

Khattar, who served two terms as Haryana’s Chief Minister, was due to complete his tenure in October. The decision to appoint Saini is further influenced by his community’s significant demographic presence, constituting an estimated eight percent of the state’s population, particularly concentrated in districts like Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Hisar, and Rewari. Saini currently represents the Kurukshetra constituency in the Lok Sabha.

The political landscape in Haryana experienced a seismic shift following Khattar’s resignation, fueling speculations about his potential candidacy in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Despite rumors suggesting he might contest from Karnal or Kurukshetra, indications point towards the latter being his likely constituency.

The BJP-JJP alliance, forged after the 2019 Assembly elections, encountered obstacles during seat-sharing negotiations for the Lok Sabha polls. While the JJP sought two seats, the BJP offered only one, leading to a deadlock. In the 2019 elections, the JJP contested and lost seven seats, while the BJP secured all ten.

The JJP has declared its intention to contest all ten seats independently, with party leader Dushyant Chautala expected to unveil campaign details at a rally in Hisar district.

Despite Haryana’s modest allocation of ten Lok Sabha seats, its significance as a Hindi heartland state renders it a pivotal battleground for the BJP, especially as it pursues ambitious electoral targets. Meanwhile, the Congress has seized upon the alliance’s disintegration to criticize the BJP’s governance track record in Haryana, underscoring the mounting political tensions in the region.

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(Inputs from agencies)