Haryana ex-CM Khattar begins new innings as Union minister

Ever since Manohar Lal Khattar became the first-ever chief minister of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana in October 2014, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue, known for austerity and spotless image, has emerged as one of the tallest and respected leaders within the BJP.

His entry in active politics of Haryana was dramatic. And equally surprising was his exit as Haryana chief minister. But even his critics did not have any doubt about central BJP leadership giving a new role to Khattar at the national level.

The 70-year-old and the Delhi University graduate had entered the electoral politics in Haryana in October 2014 when the BJP dethroned the Congress in assembly election. Khattar was appointed as chief minister despite being a first time MLA and much to the chagrin of many senior BJP MLAs in Haryana.

And three months back, when he was asked to step down as CM, the post he occupied for over nine years, the hopes of his adversaries within the BJP were again dashed as the party preferred Nayab Singh Saini as Khattar’s successor to some temperamental senior leaders.

By bringing Khattar’s innings as CM to an abrupt halt and fielding him from Karnal for the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had tried to blunt the anti-incumbency factor that the party was facing in the state with Khattar at the helm.

But on Sunday, when Khattar, the first- time Lok Sabha MP, was sworn in as cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, the development did not come as a surprise.

According to Rohtak-based political commentator Satish Tyagi, after Khattar was fielded from Karnal parliamentary seat, BJP circles were abuzz that former CM will either be BJP’s next national president or a Union minister because of he enjoys the “PM’s trust”.

The former chief minister is the key strategist of the BJP in Haryana. He won Karnal Lok Sabha seat by 2,32,577 votes, the third highest victory margin in the state.

“Khattar is a non-Jat poster boy of the party in Haryana,” says Tyagi, adding that as BJP has been focusing on consolidating non-Jat votes to counter the Congress in the upcoming assembly polls in October, Khattar will be the party’s prime face even though Nayab Singh Saini heads the state government.

The dark spots of his tenure as CM were February 2016 Jat quota stir, which saw large-scale violence and arson in several parts of the state, followed by killings of protesting Dera Sacha Sauda followers in Panchkula in August 2017.

He introduced pre-qualification conditions for the candidates contesting panchayat elections, which stood the scrutiny of the Supreme Court, while merit-based recruitment brought bouquet as well as brickbats in equal measure to BJP in Haryana.

During his tenure as CM, Khattar tried that zero-tolerance towards favouritism and corruption is practised at every level in government and in administration at the district level. He is credited for curbing corruption and introducing a slew of e-governance initiatives to curb corruption.

The much-touted digital drive formed the bedrock of plain-speaking Khattar’s working style as CM. But his style of functioning did not go down well with a section of the party leaders.

At the helm for the last over nine years, unrest had started brewing against Khattar even within the party also. He was considered a stumbling block in sharing the spoils of power. And his penchant for introducing technology extensively to curb corruption and bring about transparency in governance turned out to be double edged sword.