Haryana Cabinet Balances Caste Equations, Accommodates Senior BJP Leaders And Political Dynasts

13 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs took oath as Haryana ministers on Thursday (17 October) along with Nayab Singh Saini, who took oath as the Chief Minister for the second consecutive time.

Earlier, there were media reports claiming that seven-time MLA from Ambala Cantt Anil Vij and four-time MP from Gurgaon Rao Inderjit Singh were also eyeing the CM post.

However, they were taken care of as Vij and Singh's daughter Arti Singh Rao, a first-time MLA from Ateli in Mahendragarh district, were sworn in as ministers.

Vij was sworn in next after Saini, placing him higher up in the hierarchy. Notably, Vij was the Home, Health and Sports Minister in the Manohar Lal Khattar cabinet for almost 10 years.

Vij is the only Punjabi face in the Cabinet this time. The Cabinet has maintained caste equations by giving representation to Jats, Dalits and Brahmins and a Rajput and a Bania.

Saini himself hails from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community. Other than him, four other OBC leaders, Rao Narbir Singh, Arti Rao, Ranbir Singh Gangwa, and Rajesh Nagar have been inducted.

Notably, Badshahpur MLA Rao Narbir Singh and Rao Inderjit Singh are considered to be at loggerheads. By accommodating both of them, the BJP has made sure to balance them out.

Two Jat leaders, the daughter of Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Chaudhary, first-time Tosham MLA Shruti Chaudhary, and two-time MLA from Panipat (Rural) Mahipal Dhanda have been inducted into the Cabinet.

Similarly, two Brahmin leaders two-time Lok Sabha MP and Gohana MLA Arvind Sharma and Palwal MLA Gaurav Gautam and two Dalit leaders Six-time MLA Krishna Lal Panwar and two-time MLA Krishna Bedi are in the Cabinet.

The Rajput and Bania communities have got representations in the form of Radaur MLA Shyam Singh Rana and Faridabad MLA Vipul Goel, who was a minister in the first Khattar Cabinet.

Haryana can have a maximum of 14 ministers, including the CM. With today's oath ceremony, the Cabinet has reached its maximum strength, leaving no scope of expansion, but only reshuffle.