‘Maybe it’s about Lok Sabha polls’: ML Khattar on BJP’s Haryana reforms

There is speculation that Mr Khattar may be asked to contest the Karnal Lok Sabha seat (File)

Chandigarh:

Hours after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manohar Lal Khattar resigned as Haryana chief minister along with cabinet ministers, he on Tuesday hinted that the party might field him in the upcoming Lok Sabha meeting House opinion poll.

Mr. Khattar also said that he had learned that the JJP has decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls alone.

Speaking to the media, Khattar said the party leadership had told him that he would be given another responsibility. “It may be decided soon.” “Maybe it has something to do with the Lok Sabha polls. I think it is possible… Whatever the (BJP) parliamentary committee decides, I will abide by it,” he explain.

There are speculations that Mr Khattar may be asked to contest from the Karnal Lok Sabha seat.

Earlier in the day, Khattar and all 13 other members of the BJP-led Council of Ministers submitted their resignations to the governor as the party’s central observer team arrived in Chandigarh.

The U-turn in Haryana comes as the alliance between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party falls apart, although leaders from both parties did not immediately comment.

The BJP replaced Khattar with OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini, who was later sworn in as the new chief minister of Haryana.

Mr. Khattar said it was a blessing that Mr. Saini, a young-faced Kurukshetra MP, was appointed as the chief minister. He said Mr. Saini was an old friend of his.

Replying to a question, Mr Khattar spoke about the BJP’s demand for Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.

He said the BJP’s aim was to contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana and cede them to “Modi’s kittens”.

The party must have spoken to the central leadership of the BJP on the issue, he said, adding that he had come to know that the party has decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls alone.

To another question, Khattar said it is the tradition of the BJP to introduce new leadership from time to time.

He also mentioned the appointment of new chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

“As the Lok Sabha elections are approaching, the parliamentary committee decided to bring in new leadership and Saini was chosen as the new leadership. I am happy that the new leadership has arrived,” he said.

Asked about Tuesday’s development, which comes a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised him at an event in Gurgaon, Khattar said he has a long-standing relationship with the prime minister, His admiration had nothing to do with it.

Mr Khattar said he himself had said that if any new leadership was to be appointed, it had to be done on time.

Asked about the expansion of Seni’s cabinet, Khattar said it would happen soon.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)