OP Yadav, Kamlesh Dhanda, Sandeep Singh dropped

In the first Cabinet expansion under new Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, eight legislators were inducted on Tuesday, taking the total strength of the Council of Ministers to 14, including the Chief Minister. Senior BJP leader and former Home Minister Anil Vij did not find a place in the Saini-led Cabinet.

The Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh, where former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was also present.

BJP MLA from Hisar Kamal Gupta was the first one to be administered oath as Cabinet Minister. Doctor by profession, Gupta took oath in Sanskrit. He was also a minister in the previous Khattar-led Government.

Second in line was MLA Seema Trikha — the lone woman minister in the state Cabinet, representing the Badkhal assembly constituency. Panipat (Rural) legislator Mahipal Dhanda and Ambala City MLA Aseem Goel took oath as Ministers of State (independent charge). Goel, a commission agent-turned-politician, emerged as a giant killer as he defeated former minister Venod Sharma.

Others who took oath as Ministers of State with independent charge include Abhe Singh Yadav –representing Nangal Chaudhry constituency; Thanesar legislator Subhash Sudha, Bishambar Singh Balmiki – the legislator from Bawani Khera, and Sanjay Singh – who represents Sohna.

Saini was sworn in as the Chief Minister on March 12, along with five Cabinet colleagues including Kanwar Pal Gujjar, Mool Chand Sharma, Ranjit Singh Chautala, JP Dalal, and Banwarilal. Haryana can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the Chief Minister. At present, Haryana Cabinet has 13 ministers — 12 from the BJP and one Independent — apart from the Chief Minister.

Furthermore, Saini’s name was unanimously decided during the party’s meeting after Khattar and the entire Cabinet, comprising three members of Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala’s JJP, stepped down on the morning of March 12.

With a stronghold over the OBC community that comprises eight per cent of the state’s population, Saini will be the Chief Minister for seven months till the State goes to the polls. After the oath-taking ceremony, Saini praised the previous Khattar-led government saying, “Our newly formed cabinet wants to thank former Chief Minister as he has given Haryana a new direction and has given the best example of good governance. He did development work in the State without any discrimination.”

Earlier in the day, Saini expressed confidence that the people of Haryana would ensure the BJP retained all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. He also appealed to people to “strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Modi”.

The polling for Haryana's 10 Lok Sabha seats will be held in the sixth phase on May 25, according to the Election Commission. Meanwhile, a bypoll for the Karnal assembly seat will also be held on the same day. The seat fell vacant after the resignation of former CM Khattar.

No Information about Cabinet Expansion; Not Upset: Vij 

Former Home Minister Anil Vij, who had skipped Saini’s swearing-in ceremony, was conspicuously absent this time as well. Talking to journalists in Chandigarh, Vij said that he had no information about the ceremony, adding that he was not upset.

Vij has apparently been upset with the party not keeping him in the loop when they decided to make Saini the Chief Minister by removing Khattar. He said that he came to know about it only in the BJP MLAs’ meeting here last week in which Saini’s name was announced. “It was not in my knowledge that the Chief Minister of our state was being changed. This came as a bombshell to me that the chief minister was being changed,” Vij told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Saini, while interacting with reporters after paying obeisance at Nada Sahib Gurdwara in Panchkula, said that Vij is “our respected leader and we have been regularly getting guidance from him”.

About Nadda's Prog Too, Vij Said He Has No Information

Notably, six-time MLA Vij had walked out of the legislature party meeting where Saini was unanimously named the Chief Minister-designate. Vij, who held the home portfolio in the Khattar government, was often at loggerheads with the Chief Minister. He was earlier said to be “upset” over being “ignored” by the BJP.

Replying to questions from reporters, he said, “I have said earlier too that I am a dedicated worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party. I am never upset with anything. Whatever I have to say, I say it clearly,” he asserted.

With Chief Minister Saini taking out a roadshow which crossed Ambala Cantonment — assembly segment represented by Vij, the former state Home Minister said: “Had Saini come to my residence, I would have offered him tea.”

When asked about Khattar’s earlier comment that Vij gets upset easily but later becomes okay too, the former Haryana minister said, “I don't know on what basis he said so.”

To a question about whether he wanted to be included in the Saini Cabinet, he replied, “This is a hypothetical question”.

Felt Happy Like a Family Elder: Khattar

Former Chief Minister Khattar on Tuesday said that when Saini succeeded him, it gave him the same happiness which any elder of a family will get. Addressing a rally in Karnal district’s Gharaunda, Khattar while referring to the change at the helm in Haryana, said, “I am very happy today. I am feeling the same happiness which an elder of a family does.” BJP president JP Nadda was also supposed to attend the event, but a functionary said he could not come due to some party engagements.

Khattar said that change is part of life. Changes keep happening, including in the political arena. He, however, indicated that the decision to effect the change in leadership was not a sudden one. “It is not that it happened suddenly. For one year, I had been telling leadership that this is right time... bring a new face,” said Khattar. That wish was fulfilled last week and the party MLAs unanimously decided that Kurukshetra MP Saini will be the next chief minister, he said.

“As disciplined soldiers of the BJP, we are ready to play any role. Our concern is to take the state and the country ahead,” he further said.

The senior BJP leader said one sees power tussles which go on in other parties. Factionalism is seen in the Congress, including in Haryana, he said.

Saini’s Team

·         Hisar MLA Dr Kamal Gupta

·         Badkhal MLA Seema Trikha

·         Panipat Rural MLA Mahipal Dhanda

·         Ambala City MLA Aseem Goel

·         Nangal Chaudhary MLA Abhe Singh Yadav

·         Thanesar MLA Subhash Sudha

·         Bawani Khera MLA Bishamber Singh Balmiki

·         Sohna MLA Sanjay Singh