Manohar Lal Khattar was on track to become the first chief minister in Haryana’s 58-year history to complete two full terms in office. His sudden resignation on Tuesday, months before the state assembly elections, came as a surprise.
His successor, Nayab Singh Saini, won a floor test in the state legislative assembly on Wednesday – indicating that the Bharatiya Janata Party had the numbers on its side to continue governing the state even after ending its four-and-a-half years old alliance with the greenhorn Jannayak Janta Party on Tuesday.
Political observers in Haryana told Scroll that Khattar’s resignation was in continuance of the BJP’s tactic of changing chief ministers in states before elections in order to counter anti-incumbency. According to them, the elevation of Saini – who belongs to a caste categorised as an Other Backward Class – is meant to appeal to OBCs in Haryana as well as other states.
#WATCH | Haryana BJP president Nayab Singh Saini takes oath as the Chief Minister of Haryana, at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh. pic.twitter.com/ULZm5kqwLG
— ANI (@ANI) March 12, 2024
Well-worn strategy
This marks the fifth instance since 2021 of the BJP switching the chief minister in a state in the run-up to assembly elections.
It proved successful for the party in three states: the BJP retained power…
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