Historic oath in Haryana: Saini returns as Chief Minister

Delhi/Panchkula 17 October (VNI)Nayab Singh Saini, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party Legislative Party, was sworn in today for his second term as the Chief Minister of Haryana. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Governor Bandaru Dattatreya in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and other BJP leaders and state CMs and Deputy CMs. Representatives of the NDA, including Lallan Singh, Pawan Kalyan, Chandrababu Naidu, and Chirag Paswan, were also present.

Thirteen ministers, including former state Home Minister Anil Vij, who was a contender for the Chief Minister's post, took the oath alongside Saini. Notably, Shruti Chaudhary, granddaughter of veteran Haryana leader Chaudhary Bansi Lal, who recently switched from Congress to BJP, and Aditi Rao, daughter of prominent leader Rao Indrajit Singh, were also sworn in as ministers.

Saini's appointment came just before the assembly elections, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar, who had served as Chief Minister for more than nine years. After Saini, BJP veteran Anil Vij took his oath as a cabinet minister. Vij, one of the most senior BJP legislators, has represented the Ambala Cantt seat seven times and has long-standing ties to the Sangh from the 1970s. He hails from the Punjabi community.

Next, Kishan Lal Panwar, who has served as MLA six times from the Israna assembly seat and held various ministerial positions during the Khattar administration from 2015 to 2019, took his oath. Rao Narbir Singh, a four-time MLA and former Khattar government minister, followed suit. Mahipal Dhanda, a representative from the Jat community and three-time MLA from Panipat Rural, also joined the cabinet.

From the Faridabad seat, Vipul Goyal, a second-term MLA from the Vaishya community and former minister, was sworn in as Minister of State. Arvind Sharma, who left Congress in 2014 to join the BJP and has served as an MP four times, took his oath as a minister. Shyam Singh Rana, representing the Rajput community, was sworn in next. Rana, who became a BJP MLA in 2014, resigned from the party in 2020 over the Farmers' Bill but has now rejoined.

Ranbir Gangwa, a two-time MLA from the Nalwa seat and former Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, was included as a representative of the backward communities. Krishna Kumar Bedi, a Dalit face for the BJP who served as Minister of State in 2014, also took the oath. Finally, Aarti Rao and Shruti Chaudhary were sworn in as ministers, representing the women leaders in the new cabinet. Both have been elected to the assembly for the first time, with Shruti Chaudhary having previously served as an MP from 2009 to 2014 on a Congress ticket.

Amid the swearing-in, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking to halt the formation of the new government, citing allegations of EVM tampering and requesting a re-election in 20 constituencies. The petition was presented by lawyer Narendra Mishra before a bench led by the Chief Justice of India, who responded critically to the request, questioning the petitioners' intentions and suggesting they could face penalties. The court directed the petitioners to submit their complaint to the Election Commission and indicated it would consider listing the matter for further consideration.