Nayab Singh Saini To Replace Khattar As Haryana's New CM; Oath Taking Ceremony At 5

Haryana BJP President Nayab Singh Saini will be the next Chief Minister of Haryana. He will be replacing Manohar Lal Khattar, who resigned earlier in the day.

Amid speculation of cracks emerging in the state's ruling BJP and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) coalition over seat sharing ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Khattar and his cabinet ministers submitted their resignations to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya.

The cabinet had 14 ministers, including Khattar, and three members from the JJP led by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. All members have tendered their resignations. A new cabinet is likely to be sworn in at the oath-taking ceremony to be held at the governor's residence later in the day, PTI reported citing sources.

The BJP has called a meeting of its MLAs at Haryana Niwas.

Several BJP leaders had earlier maintained that party would fight all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Union minister Arjun Munda, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, who has been appointed as observers by the party, as well as BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala are in Haryana Niwas.

As per the reports, Khattar may contest as the BJP's candidate from the Karnal Lok Sabha seat.

Currently, the BJP holds 41 seats in the 90-member House, with the JJP holding 10. Additionally, the ruling coalition has the backing of six out of seven independents. The principal opposition party, Congress, commands 30 MLAs, while the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party each hold one seat.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured victory in all 10 seats in the state.