Haryana governor Satyadev Narayan Arya on Saturday invited the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government and invited chief minister-elect Manohar Lal Khattar and his to-be deputy Jannayak Janata Party's Dushyant Chautala for a swearing-in ceremony on Sunday at 2.15 pm.
Khattar, who was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP's legislative party in Haryana and is set to be chief minister of the state for a second time, said 57 MLAs — 40 of the BJP, 10 of the JJP and seven Independents — staked a claim to form the government before the governor.
"The governor accepted it and invited us to form the government on Sunday," Khattar said, adding that the ceremony will take place at 2.15 pm on Sunday as the country celebrates Diwali. Dushyant Chautala will take oath as the deputy chief minister, he said, dispelling reports which suggested that Chautala's mother Naina would be sworn-in as deputy chief minister.
Haryana Chief Minister-designate Manohar Lal Khattar with JJP chief Dushyant Chautala meets Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya to stake claim for forming the next government in the state. PTI
He added that some ministers would take also oath on Sunday, but did not specify the number.
Earlier, Khattar and his cabinet colleagues submitted their resignations to the governor, which were accepted. The governor asked Khattar to continue as the interim chief minister till the new government took over.
Khattar met the governor after being elected as the leader of BJP's legislative party in Haryana during a meeting attended by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP general secretary Arun Singh. At the meeting held in Chandigarh, Khattar's name was proposed by MLAs Anil Vij and Kanwar Pal and seconded by other party legislators.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Prasad congratulated Khattar and said the party would provide a "stable, honest and effective" government in Haryana. However, Prasad clarified that the saffron party would not take the support of Sirsa MLA Gopal Kanda, a controversial politician who faces two abetment-to-suicide cases, to form the government in Haryana.
To a question on constituting the new state cabinet, he said it was the prerogative of the chief minister, who would take a call in this regard after the oath-taking ceremony. To another question on the number of deputy chief ministers in the new government, Prasad clarified that only one person would be named to the post.
Khattar thanked all the party legislators for electing him as the leader of the legislative party and asserted that the part would continue to run a a "clean and stable" government.
Meanwhile, Chautala also reached the Union Territory to accompany Khattar to meet the governor and submit his party's letter of support. He also expressed joy after his father Ajay, who was lodged in the jail after conviction in a teacher recruitment scam, was granted two weeks' furlough.
Dushyant Chatala, JJP leader on his father Ajay Chautala being granted furlough: He has been granted 14-day furlough after model code of conduct ended yesterday. Is parivartan ki neev ke andaar woh humare kandho ko taqat denge toh mera liye usse badi khushi ki baat kuch nahi hai. pic.twitter.com/V59bi1vMWw
— ANI (@ANI) October 26, 2019
The BJP staked claim to form the government in Haryana after clinching a post-poll alliance with the JJP, which won 10 seats in the 90-member Assembly in the 21 October polls by giving it the post of deputy chief minister on Friday.
The Congress, which won 31 seats is the state, appeared to be satisfied with its performance. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday told ANI that Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi was happy with the party's performance.
Uneasy allies continue to butt heads
In Maharashtra, the tussle between the alliance partners BJP and the Shiv Sena continued, with the regional party seeking a written assurance from the BJP for implementing "equal formula for sharing of power"as pre-condition to staking claim to form government in the state.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of newly-elected MLAs at Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's residence in Mumbai, party MLA Pratap Sarnaik said Thackeray wanted a written assurance from the BJP.
"The Shiv Sena contested fewer number of seats in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. Uddhav Thackeray has said the BJP should give a written assurance about implementing the power-sharing formula arrived at in the presence of Amit Shah and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at my residence about equal sharing of seats and power," he told PTI.
He also said that MLAs demanded that Aaditya Thackeray, who was elected to the Worli constituency in Mumbai, be made chief minister in the next government. Contesting the Congress' suggestion of exploring all options to keep the BJP out of power, he said the Sena chief was "not interested".
"The Sena chief told us that he had other options open (apparently to form government) but he was not interested. He told us that the BJP and the Sena are bound together by Hindutva," said Sarnaik. He added that the leader of the Sena legislature party will be selected after new MLAs take the oath of office.
Meanwhile, Union minister and senior BJP leader Raosaheb Danve told reporters his party was not aware of any equal power sharing deal being proposed by the Shiv Sena. "After Diwali, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will discuss the issue of formation of government with Uddhavji," he said.
In the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP won just 105 seats while its ally, the Sena, bagged 56 seats. The NCP and the Congress bagged 54 and 44 seats respectively in the 288-member House.
October 27, 2019 at 12:06AM
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