Who is Nayab Singh Saini? Meet new Haryana CM who replaced Manohar Lal Khattar

Nayab Singh Saini is set to become the new Haryana Chief Minister on Tuesday. He will replace Manohar Lal Khattar as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government aims for a major reshuffle. The development came as the BJP severed ties with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections and assembly elections this year.

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Who is Nayab Singh Saini?

Nayab Singh Saini is a BJP leader belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC) in the state. He is said to be a close aide of former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

BJP MLA Rajesh Nagar said on Tuesday, “Nayab Singh Saini will be the new CM (Haryana). Manohar Lal Khattar himself proposed his (Saini's) name.”

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Nayab Saini is the BJP Lok Sabha MP from the Kurukshetra constituency in Haryana. He is also the chief of the Haryana unit of the BJP and member of the Standing Committee on Labour. On Tuesday, Saini was "unanimously elected leader of the BJP Legislative Party".

Saini contested the election in Naraingarh constituency in 2010 but was defeated by Ramkishan Gurjar, Haryana BJP said. In 2014, he won the election by 24,361 votes. He served as a state minister of the Haryana government.

He also won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, defeating his rival and Congress leader Nirmal Singh from the Kurukshetra constituency with a margin of over 3.83 lakh votes.

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The CM-elect was born in a village of Mizapur Majra in Ambala on January 25, 1970. He earned a BA degree from BR Ambedkar Bihar University in Muzaffarpur and an LLB degree from Ch. Charan Singh University in Meerut.

Saini will reportedly take oath as the new Haryana Chief Minister at 4 pm on Tuesday, along with other ministers. 

Khattar and his cabinet ministers resigned as the chief minister on Tuesday. As the BJP moved to replace Khattar, speculations are now rife that the former CM may contest as the BJP's candidate from the Karnal Lok Sabha seat.