Hours after the BJP replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as the chief minister of Haryana, JJP leader and former Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the people for their trust and support in his party.
The switch in Haryana came amid the ruling BJP-JJP coalition coming apart, though party leaders from both sides did not make immediate comments.
Mr Khattar and all 13 other members of the BJP-led council of ministers submitted their resignations to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, as a team of the party's central observers -- Union Minister Arjun Munda and party general secretary Tarun Chugh -- arrived in Chandigarh.
In a post on X, Dushyant Chautala thanked the people of the state for giving him the opportunity to serve the state as deputy chief minister of Haryana.
"I consider it my good fortune and express my gratitude to every person of Haryana from the bottom of my heart. Your support and cooperation for the welfare of Haryana and public works has always been energizing for me," he said.
He said with limited time and limited numbers, they have worked day and night to protect the interests of Haryana. They have got the work of every section and every area of Haryana done by the government, the former deputy chief minister further said.
"I will always be grateful to you for the constant trust you have shown in us and the support you have always given us during our times of difficulty and struggle.
"I assure you that following the footsteps of Jannayak Chaudhary Devi Lal ji, I will always be dedicated to protecting the interests of Haryana and the people of Haryana. Our efforts for social and economic security of the people of Haryana will continue," he said.
सभी हरियाणावासियों को मेरा नमस्कार।
— Dushyant Chautala (@Dchautala) March 12, 2024
आपने मुझे हरियाणा के उपमुख्यमंत्री के रूप में प्रदेश की सेवा करने का अवसर दिया इसको मैं अपना सौभाग्य मानता हूँ और हरियाणा के प्रत्येक व्यक्ति का दिल की ग़हराइयों से आभार प्रकट करता हूँ। हरियाणा के हित और जनता के कार्यों के लिए आपका समर्थन और…
The BJP leaders had earlier maintained that the post-poll alliance with JJP was only for running the government and not for contesting polls as the saffron outfit had said 'lotus' (BJP poll symbol) will bloom on all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Sources said the JJP was asking for two seats to contest the LS polls in alliance with the BJP but the saffron outfit outright refused to leave any seat.
In the newly-inducted Saini cabinet which took oath on Tuesday, BJP retained four of its ministers and one independent MLA from the previous cabinet. However, all three from the JJP -- Dushyant Chautala, Anoop Dhanak and Devender Singh Babli -- were not reinducted.
BJP Haryana president Saini was sworn in as the state's new chief minister hours after Khattar and his cabinet ministers resigned from their posts.
Five others took the oath as members of the new council of ministers along with Saini. They are BJP leaders Kanwar Pal, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Parkash Dalal and Banwari Lal and independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala.
Asked about the fate of the alliance, JJP's Haryana unit chief Nishan Singh said, "A meeting of the party was held under the chairmanship of Dushyant Chautala's father, Dr Ajay Singh Chautala. All issues were discussed in the meeting."
He said it was decided that Ajay Chautala's birthday on Wednesday will be observed by holding Nav Sankalp rally in Hisar. Whatever the party will decide will be informed in the rally, he added.
Nishan Singh, meanwhile, congratulated Mr Saini who took oath as new CM. Notably, with both the BJP and the JJP remaining non-committal over jointly contesting the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the BJP leaders had earlier maintained that post-poll alliance with JJP was meant only for running the government.
Replying to a question on breaking an alliance between the BJP and the JJP, Karnal MP Sanjay Bhatia told reporters earlier in the day that there is no official statement that the alliance with JJP has been broken. There is no statement either from the JJP or from the BJP, said Bhatia.
The BJP has a majority with the support of Independents, he said.
Asked whether this alliance will remain, Mr Bhatia said the JJP had earlier given support. "If they continue their support, who will have an objection to it?" Asked whether doors are open for the JJP, Bhatia said, "Who shut them (doors)? Nobody shut them." The BJP, which won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana by large margins in 2019, appeared keen to fight the upcoming parliamentary polls on its own. It had forged the alliance with the JJP later after falling short of the majority mark in the assembly elections.
At present, the BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member assembly while the JJP has 10. The ruling combine also enjoyed the support of six of the seven Independents, and is comfortably placed even without the JJP's support.
The main opposition Congress has 30 MLAs and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) have one seat each.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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