ML Khattar to Take Oath as Haryana CM for Second Term Today, JJP’s Dushyant Chautala Named His Deputy

New Delhi: Manohar Lal Khattar will be sworn in as the chief minister of Haryana for his second term today, with Jannayak Janata Party (JJP)'s Dushyant Chautala set to be his deputy. Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya on Saturday invited the BJP to form the next government in the state after the BJP staked claim to form the government with the support of the JJP.

"The Haryana governor has invited us to form the government on Sunday," Khattar said, adding that the oath-taking ceremony will take place at 2.15 pm on Sunday, the day of Diwali.

Khattar said Chautala will take oath as deputy chief minister. He added that a total of 57 MLAs — 40 from the BJP, 10 from the JJP, and seven Independents — staked claim to form the government in Haryana. "The governor accepted it and invited us to form the government on Sunday," Khattar said.

BJP working president JP Nadda, Union ministers and the chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh (Jai Ram Thakur), Uttarakhand (Trivendra Singh Rawat) and Uttar Pradesh (Yogi Adityanath) are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony, said party sources. A few BJP MPs will also attend the event at Haryana Raj Bhawan.

Dushyant's father Ajay Chautala, who is lodged in Tihar Jail for conviction in a teacher recruitment scam, was granted a two-week furlough on Saturday. He is to attend the oath-taking ceremony on Sunday.

In his first term, Khattar had taken oath on October 26, 2014, in a function attended by a galaxy of leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, LK Advani, Amit Shah, Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of several BJP-ruled states, besides Akali Dal veteran Parkash Singh Badal.

In a departure from the past, the oath-taking function was then held in Panchkula instead of Chandigarh, the common capital of both Haryana and Punjab. But this time, the function will again be held in Chandigarh.

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 said some ministers would take oath on Sunday. He, however, did not specify the number.

In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, a minimum strength of 46 MLAs is required to form the government.

Six-time MLA Anil Vij, Banwari Lal, and Seema Trikha from the BJP, and Ram Kumar Gautam and Ishwar Singh from the JJP are among the probables likely to get ministerial berths in the new government.

Among seven Independents supporting the BJP-led coalition, late Devi Lal's son Ranjit Singh Chautala is among the frontrunners for the ministerial post, said sources in the party.

Vij, who was the health minister in the previous term, is the senior most leader of the party to have been elected for the sixth term from Ambala Cantt.

The other BJP MLAs being considered for ministerial berths include Mahaipal Dhanda, Ghanshyam Saraf, Kamal Gupta, Subhash Sudha and Deepak Mangla, added the sources.

Earlier in the day, Khattar was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP's legislative party in Haryana, with the saffron party claiming that it would provide a "stable and honest" government with the JJP's support. Khattar's name was proposed Vij and MLA Kanwar Pal and seconded by other party legislators.

The BJP on Friday had sealed a deal with the JJP to form the next government in Haryana after the saffron party fell short of six seats from the majority mark.

Under the arrangement, the chief minister will be from the BJP and the deputy CM from the JJP. The JJP won 10 seats in the polls to the Assembly.

(With inputs from agencies)