Khattar leads race for Haryana CM

Haryana’s newly elected BJP legislators will meet in Chandigarh on Tuesday to “elect” a leader, who will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate. Indications are that veteran leader and RSS activist Manohar Lal Khattar will be the party’s choice.

The broad hint about Mr. Khattar came from a senior leader who said “it will be a non-Jat.”

Mr. Khattar was non-committal on the issue, saying “the party will decide.” The four aspirants, Mr. Khattar, State president Ram Bilas Sharma, Kisan Morcha chief O.P. Dhankar and Narnaud MLA Captain Abhimanyu, met party president Amit Shah on Monday.

Going by the hectic lobbying in Delhi, where the party’s chief ministerial aspirants from Haryana are camping since Sunday evening, the decision is not going to be easy.

The BJP leadership appears to be in favour of a non-Jat leader as it believes that its stunning victory came about because of non-Jat votes. Besides, for the last 16 years, Haryana has had Jat chief ministers who have favoured the community. The BJP’s vote bank of Brahmins, Banias and Punjabis remained mostly deprived and the party hopes to restore the balance.

Outgoing Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in particular, was known to have heavily favoured the Jats and was also instrumental in getting them reservation in government jobs.

All four aspirants, Mr. Khattar, State president Ram Bilas Sharma, Kisan Morcha chief O.P. Dhankar and Narnaud MLA Captain Abhimanyu, met party president Amit Shah on Monday.

But, those pitching for a Jat chief minister point to the eight newly-elected Jat MLAs as evidence that the community has not shunned the BJP. “If the party wants to cement its position in Haryana, it is important to consolidate this new vote bank by giving it representation,” said a chief ministerial aspirant.

His supporters point to the BJP’s Jat support in neighbouring Rajasthan, Western U.P. and Madhya Pradesh, arguing that if the party chooses a non-Jat in Haryana, it could impact the party in these States.

Central BJP leaders M. Venkaiah Naidu and Dinesh Sharma will attend Tuesday’s meeting of the BJP legislators as observers. If all goes well, a BJP government will be sworn in before Diwali on October 23, party in-charge for Haryana, Jagdish Mukhi, told The Hindu .