Haryana, 12 March 2024: Manohar Lal Khattar was replaced as Haryana's chief minister on Tuesday by Nayab Singh Saini, who took an oath of office. At the Raj Bhavan swearing-in ceremony, Saini was joined by five ministers, including BJP MLAs Banwari Lal, Jai Parkash Dalal, and independent legislator Ranjit Singh.   

As a result of divisions within the ruling BJP-JJP alliance, Manohar Lal Khattar resigned and Nayab Saini was selected as the BJP's legislative party leader.

Anil Vij, the former home minister, did not attend the Chandigarh oath ceremony because he had left the legislative party meeting in the middle.

After Saini swore in as the chief minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him. "Congratulations on becoming the Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri @NayabSainiBJP Ji. On social media platform X, he wrote, "Wishing him and his team of Ministers the very best for their efforts in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Haryana."

Saini, a Kurukshetra-born MP, represents the OBC community in Haryana. In October of last year, he was named the Haryana BJP's state president.

Following Manohar Lal Khattar's resignation amid divisions within the Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janata Party (BJP-JJP) coalition that had ruled the state since 2019, Saini was selected as the BJP's legislative party leader. 

Who is Nayab Singh Saini?

On January 25, 1970, Nayab Singh Saini was born into a family of Haryanvi Saini. He was born in the small village of Mizapur Majra, which is located in Ambala, Haryana region of India. To earn his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees, he received his education from B. R. Ambedkar Bihar University in Muzaffarpur and Ch. Charan Singh University in Meerut.

It was through his membership in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that he was introduced to Manohar Lal Khattar, who immediately left an impression on him. After a period of time, he became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and went on to hold a number of local party offices, including the position of president of the Ambala Cantonment. He has been a loyal member of the party for a considerable amount of time and has been a vote bank for people from underrepresented groups.

He ran for office in the Naraingarh constituency in 2010, but Ramkishan Gurjar won the election with 3,028 votes out of a total of 116,039 votes cast. He was defeated by Gurjar. In 2014, he was victorious in the election by a margin of 24,361 votes. Within the government of Haryana, he served as a state minister.

During the general election that took place in India in 2019, he was chosen to represent Kurukshetra as a member of parliament.

Nayab Singh Saini, the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was elevated to the position of Haryana's chief minister on March 12, 2024, just a few hours after Manohar Lal Khattar announced his resignation as Haryana's chief minister prior to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.