Haryana CM Saini thanks people, vows to take state forward under PM Modi's leadership

Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini thanked people of the state and vowed to take it forward under prime minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, as the trends on counting day swung decisively towards the BJP, with the party now on the verge of a historic third consecutive term here.

“I thank the 2.8 crore people of Haryana for putting a stamp on our work. This is because of PM Modi. We are moving forward under his leadership. He spoke to me and gave me his blessings. I had faith that the poor, farmers, and youth of Haryana would bless me,” he told reporters after winning from the Ladwa constituency.

Saini, who succeeded party colleague Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister in March, defeated Mewa Ram of the Congress by a margin of 16,054 votes.

Meanwhile, Khattar, now a minister in the BJP-led central government, called it a ‘rejection’ by the people of the Congress, now facing an unexpected and third consecutive defeat.

“The people have rejected the Congress. The public has given a message that the policies of PM Modi had a positive impact on them,” he said.

Meanwhile, the saffron party’s likely win in the northern state would have come against exit polls that were unanimous in predicting the grand old party’s return to power for the first time in a decade. Initial trends on the counting day, too, were in line with exit poll projections before the BJP reversed them.

Earlier, as it began losing momentum, the Congress alleged there was an ‘unexpected and inordinate’ delay in trends on the Election Commission’s website, and ‘real trends’ were not reflecting on the website, and shot off a letter to the poll body. However, the Election Commission rejected its claim and said the counting was being held as per the rules.