Nayab Singh Saini (L), who is an OBC face, is close to his predecessor ML Khattar. (Image: PTI/File)
Being an OBC leader is the most significant reason why the BJP chose Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini. Haryana has nearly 44% OBCs and, in fact, this was also the reason he was made the state unit chief last year
It has been a dream decade for Nayab Singh Saini, whose rise from 2014 when Narendra Modi made an entry into national politics, has now resulted in the BJP picking him as the chief minister of Haryana. He replaced Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday, ahead of the assembly election that coincides with the Lok Sabha polls.
The Kurukshetra MP’s dream run started when he was elected an MLA from Naraingarh in 2014. Two years later, he became a minister in Khattar’s cabinet. In 2019, he was fielded in the Lok Sabha elections and won from Kurukshetra. In October last year, he was made the state BJP president. Saini, who belongs to the other backward classes, is close to Khattar.
Here are the three reasons why the BJP chose him:
The OBC factor
Saini’s journey from a small village in Ambala to the chief minister’s office was not sudden. He took small steps like his stint in the RSS and working as the district president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
Being an OBC leader, however, is the most significant reason why he was chosen as chief minister. Haryana has nearly 44 percent OBCs. In fact, this was also the reason he was made the state president last year, replacing Jat face Om Prakash Dhankar.
This helps the BJP neutralise Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s feverish demand for a caste census, where he has consistently asked for ‘jitni abadi, utna haq’ in his bid to woo the OBCs. Both Jats and Jat Sikhs in Haryana are under the backward classes category.
Saini’s elevation seems to bridge the Jat and non-Jat divide in the state’s polity since 2014 when Khattar, a non-Jat face, was made the CM in a state politically dominated by the Jats.
Beating anti-incumbency
Khattar has ruled Haryana for 10 years now and understandably generated enough anti-incumbency. While the BJP can sail through the Lok Sabha polls riding on Modi’s image, this cannot be said about the assembly election that is fought on local issues.
In the 2019 general election, the BJP won all 10 Lok Sabha seats. But, the saffron party had to scramble to make a rainbow alliance with independents and the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), so as to form the government as it fell short of the magic numbers unlike in 2014.
By replacing Khattar, the BJP is reasonably confident of bucking that trend where an OBC face rose from Mirzapur Hazra village to the top post with a reasonably clean slate and less baggage.
Saini is pro-Khattar, Khattar was pro-Saini
While replacing a two-term CM and possibly bringing him to Parliament, a key consideration of the BJP was also to pick someone who shares a good relationship with his predecessor and the other way round.
Saini met Khattar during his stint in the RSS and has been in touch ever since. While Saini is considered to be influenced by Khattar, the now-former CM is believed to have a liking for his successor’s organisational acumen and dedication as a Sangh worker.
In fact, in 2019, when the Haryana core group met at the BJP headquarters for the central election committee (CEC) to announce names, it was Khattar who suggested the BJP leadership should consider fielding Saini from Kurukshetra.
But beyond the why of Saini’s elevation, if anything, it proves that in this BJP, even a district president of the party’s youth wing can aspire to become a CM – much like we saw in December last year when Vishnu Deo Sai became the CM of Chhattisgarh, all the way from the post of a village pradhan.
