Nayab Singh Saini, the proverbial dark horse who became star of the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the Haryana assembly elections, was sworn in as chief minister of the state on Thursday in a grand ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a galaxy of National Democratic Alliance leaders.
Thousands of people packed into the Dussehra Ground to watch Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administer the oath of office to the low profile OBC leader and 13 others.
For the BJP, the messaging was not just in its show of strength with a power packed dais seating its chief ministers, ministers and NDA partners but also in its choice of the day -- Valmiki Jayanti.
Sage-poet Valmiki is the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana and a revered figure, especially among Dalits.
The prime minister congratulated Saini and his ministerial colleagues on their swearing-in and described the team as a wonderful mix of good governance and experience.
"This government will realise the dreams of people and take the state's development to a new high," he said in a post on X in Hindi.
"I am confident that the double engine government will leave no stone unturned in serving the poor, farmers, youths and women besides all other sections of society," Modi said.
Saini also thanked 2.8 crore people of Haryana for their mandate and the prime minister for his “inspirational leadership”.
"For the third time with full majority, the BJP government will work with full energy for good governance, equality and welfare of the poor," Saini said in a post on X after being sworn in for the second time as chief minister.
Saini is heading the BJP's third consecutive government in the state, a strategic victory after the Lok Sabha elections that many party leaders hope sets the pace for next month's crucial assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
The BJP won 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. Three Independents, including Hisar MLA Savitri Jindal, also extended support to the party.
Haryana can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the chief minister.
The 13-member council of ministers includes the party's most senior leader and seven-time MLA Anil Vij, Ahir leader Rao Narbir Singh and Jat leader Mahipal Dhanda. It also has two women – former Congress leader Shruti Choudhary, daughter of Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhary, and first time MLA Arti Singh, the daughter of Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh.
Rajesh Nagar and Gaurav Gautam took oath as state ministers (independent charge).
All the newly inducted ministers except Choudhary took their oath in Hindi. Choudhary took her oath in English.
Besides giving representation to various castes, including five from the OBC category, two Dalits, two Jats and two Brahmins, the Saini ministry has also accommodated leaders from various regions, including Ahirwal belt, GT road belt and the Faridabad-Palwal region.
"It is teamwork... We will fulfil all the responsibilities given to us by the CM (Nayab Singh Saini)," BJP's Shyam Singh Rana said after taking oath as Haryana minister.
Union minister Khattar, who had ceded space to Saini, took the occasion to thank all the NDA leaders, chief ministers and others who had gathered.
"This is the first time since 1980 that any party has formed government thrice in Haryana or any other state,” he told PTI Videos after the event.
Among those present were Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and BJP president J P Nadda. Chief ministers of several BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath, Assam's Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai, Gujarat's Bhupendra Patel and Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami.
NDA partner, Telugu Desam Party leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, was there too.
“We are very happy. This is the confidence people are having in PM Modi. That's why it is a big victory. Mood of the nation is very clear," he told reporters.
"This is an unexpected and historic victory in itself. I congratulate Nayab Singh Saini ji and attribute this victory entirely to my PM Modi and his leadership, to Home Minister Amit Shah's policies, to BJP national president JP Nadda's organisational strength, and most importantly, to the people of Haryana," added LJP leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
Before the ceremony, Saini visited Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
Replying to a question, Saini told reporters that the BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' (poll manifesto) will be fully implemented.
After the oath-taking, NDA leaders, including chief ministers and deputy chief ministers, gathered for a chief minister's council meeting in Chandigarh.
There are 13 chief ministers and 16 deputy CMs belonging to the BJP while CMs of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Nagaland and Meghalaya are from its allies, the BJP said in a statement before the conclave.
This is the first conclave of NDA CMs of this kind in the last many years. With the BJP and its allies set to take on opposition alliance in next month's Maharashtra and Jharkhand polls, the ruling bloc is looking to draw momentum from its Haryana win to take on its rivals next month.
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