Khattar to be Haryana CM again, may take oath on Sunday

Chandigarh: Manohar Lal Khattar will be the Chief Minister of Haryana for the second consecutive term after he was unanimously elected as leader of the BJP Legislature Party.

Khattar’s name was proposed by legislator Anil Vij and seconded by the rest of the 38 legislators.

Khattar will meet Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya at 2.30 p.m on Saturday and stake claim to form the government.

Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala is also expected to reach Chandigarh later in the day and meet the Governor to submit his party’s letter of support to the BJP.

The oath-taking is likely to take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Khattar arrived here from New Delhi on Saturday morning to attend the BJP Legislature Party meeting, which is being attended by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP General Secretary Arun Singh.

Prasad told the media that since the BJP is the single largest party, it would meet the Governor and stake claim to form the government.

“The oath taking ceremony shall be held whenever the Governor gives us a suitable time,” he said.

On the post of Deputy Chief Minister, Prasad clarified that there would be only one.

“It will be the prerogative of the Chief Minister to take a decision on the formation of the Cabinet and its constitution,” he replied to another media query.

The Union Minister, who was here as a party observer, also clarified the party would not be taking any support from Haryana Lokhit Party MLA Goyal Kanda.

He said the government is going to form the government with the support of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which has 10 legislators, and all seven Independents.

“All are united,” he said, adding the BJP would give clean and stable government and this is “our assurance to the people of Haryana”.

Khattar said all 40 MLAs of the BJP have unanimously elected him as their leader.

“I thank all of them and the people of Haryana. I would like to assure them as well as all those friends who are supporting us that I shall take all of them along for the next five years and all of us shall work together for the betterment and upliftment of our state of Haryana,” Khattar said.

On Thursday, after the announcement of the results of Haryana Assembly elections, in which the BJP fell short by six seats from the magical figure of 46 needed for a majority, the businessman-turned-politician extended unconditional support to the BJP for forming the state government.

There were also reports of the BJP’s top leaders meeting Kanda. However, the party had to back track in the face of massive criticism as Kanda is accused of abetting to suicide Geetika Sharma, an air hostess with his now-defunct MDLR airlines.

Geetika, 23, committed suicide in 2012 alleging harassment by Kanda and one of his aides, and her mother, Anuradha, also killed herself a few months later apparently unable to bear the loss of her daughter.

Kanda was then a minister in the Congress-led Haryana government. He remained in jail for a year and a half and was granted bail in March 2014, and the charge of rape was dropped by the Delhi High Court.

He later formed the Haryana Lokhit Party, on a ticket of which he has won the Assembly election from Sirsa constituency.

The criminal case against him is still pending in New Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court.

Updated  on: Oct 26, 2019 at 14:00IST | Published on: Oct 26, 2019 at 12:55 IST

IANS