Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Nayab Singh Saini on taking oath as the chief minister of Haryana.
Modi sent the greetings on social media platform X.
Congratulations to Shri @NayabSainiBJP Ji on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Haryana. Wishing him and his team of Ministers the very best for their efforts in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Haryana.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 12, 2024
Nayab Singh Saini was sworn in Chandigarh replacing Manohar Lal Khattar. In addition to Saini, the BJP’s JP Dalal, Moolchand Sharma, Banwari Lal, and Kanwar Pal Gurjar–all from the old cabinet–took oath as ministers. Khattar was also present at the ceremony.
Khattar resigning from the CM’s post resulted in breakdown of the ruling BJP-JJP alliance which happened due to failed seat sharing talks for the Lok Sabha elections.
In a significant gesture, Saini, seen as a confidante of Khattar, bent to touch his feet twice, and was hugged in return.
An influential figure within the OBC, or Other Backward Classes community, Nayab Saini is the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Kurukshetra and was appointed the party’s state boss in October last year. He is also a close confidante of Khattar, whose second (consecutive) term ends this year.
The Kurukshetra MP Saini was appointed Haryana BJP state president in October last year.