Nayab Singh Saini to take oath as Haryana CM today; Modi, Shah to attend mega event in Panchkula

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Nayab Singh Saini will be sworn-in as the chief minister of Haryana on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party's top leadership, among others will attend the oath-taking ceremony scheduled to begin around noon.

Saini, 54, on Wednesday met Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and staked claim to form the next government after he was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in a meeting held at the party office in Panchkula.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the wake of the swearing-in ceremony which will take place in Panchkula. Besides Modi and Shah, several Union ministers including Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda, who is also the BJP president, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, and senior party leaders will attend the oath-taking event.

Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya will administer the oath of office and secrecy.

PM Modi, HM Shah to attend

Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli said while PM Modi, Union ministers, chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states and NDA partners will attend the oath-taking function, opposition leaders of various parties, "progressive farmers", 'Lakhpati Didis' and people from various social organisations have also been invited.

Badoli had also said Valmiki Jayanti falls on October 17, the day when the new government would be sworn-in.

In the October 5 Haryana polls, the BJP secured an unprecedented third term in the state, winning 48 seats in the 90-member assembly. The Congress won 37 seats.

With the BJP forming the government for a third time in a row in Haryana, Saini will be taking oath as the chief minister for the second time.

Around 50,000 people were expected to attend the mega event, party leaders said. A total of 14 LED screens will be installed at the event venue so that people could witness the function.

Traffic advisory has also been issued ahead of the swearing-in event.

In a departure from tradition, the BJP had declared that Saini would remain chief minister if the party returned to power in Haryana after the assembly polls.

Saini, an OBC face of the party, had won the Ladwa seat in Kurukshetra district. Months before the assembly polls, the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with low-profile Saini as Haryana CM, a decision that surprised many. The BJP's gamble, however, paid off with Saini leading the party to victory in the state elections.

Saini's elevation from the Haryana BJP president to chief minister in March came at a time when the party was facing anti-incumbency following Khattar's tenure of nine-and-a-half years and attacks from a buoyant opposition on farmers' issues, unemployment, Agnipath scheme, inflation, and law and order.

Days after Saini was brought in by the BJP, the Model Code of Conduct came into effect with the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, and later ahead of the assembly elections, effectively giving him only two months to shift the public perception.

(With PTI inputs)