Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya on Saturday invited the BJP to form the next government after the party’s Chief Minister-elect Manohar Lal Khattar and several legislators met Mr. Arya and staked claim to form the government with the support of the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which fell short of clear majority in the 90-member Haryana Assembly after the Assembly election, is all set to form the new government with the support of Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party and Independent legislators.
Mr. Khattar, who was elected leader of the Haryana BJP legislative party earlier in the day, will be sworn in as Chief Minister, while Mr. Chautala will take oath as Deputy Chief Minister.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We staked our claim to form the government. We collectively — including the BJP’s 40, JJP’s 10 and seven Independents, in all 57 MLAs — presented our claim before the Governor. He has accepted our request and invited us to form the next government. Seven Independents have given letters of support, which was accepted by the Governor,” said Mr. Khattar. The BJP is six seats short of a majority in 90-member Assembly.
“I and my Cabinet colleagues tendered our resignation. The Governor has invited us for the swearing-in ceremony on October 27 at the Raj Bhawan, in which the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will take the oath. Dushyant Chautala will take oath as the Deputy CM,” said Mr. Khattar.
He added that a few members of the new cabinet could also take oath tomorrow. but nothing has been finalised so far. The majority mark in Haryana State Assembly is 46.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Chautala said the BJP-JJP was needed for stability in Haryana. He also hit out at the Congress, saying the people who are running the party had looted the State during their regime.
Earlier in the day, the BJP held a meeting of its legislative party and unanimously elected Mr. Khattar as leader. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP general secretary Arun Singh attended the meeting as the party’s central observers. Mr. Khattar’s name was proposed by legislators Anil Vij and Kanwar Pal and seconded by other BJP MLAs.
Mr. Prasad told reporters that the party will not take the support extended by Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda, who won from Sirsa. Mr. Kanda, a controversial former Minister who faces two abetment-to-suicide cases, had offered his unconditional support to the BJP to form government. “The BJP is not going to take the support of Kanda,” said Mr. Prasad.
ADVERTISEMENT
President of the Haryana Congress unit Kumari Selja told reporters that the BJP and JJP had disrespected the mandate of the people of Haryana.
The BJP had emerged as the single largest party by winning 40 seats the Assembly polls but it fell short of six seats to form the government on its own. The Congress won 31 seats while the JJP wrested 10 seats. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Haryana Lokhit Party won one seat each while seven Independents also won in the State.