Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini seems to have got the caste equations right, with his 13-member cabinet comprising four OBCs, two Jats, Dalits and Brahmins each, and representation also given to the other communities like Punjabis, Rajputs and Vaish.
Saini’s swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his senior cabinet colleagues, and from NDA allies, JD(U) and LJP(RV). The swearing-in ceremony was organised on Valmiki Jayanti, a special day for the Dalits who revere the saint.
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Former minister Anil Vij, a Punjabi MLA from Ambala Cantt, made a comeback to the cabinet. He was part of the M.L. Khattar cabinet but was dropped when Saini became CM for the first time in March. Vij has been vocal with his ambitions to become the chief minister, but has been asked to tone down. As he is the lone Punjabi MLA, the shift is visible towards OBCs. He was picked up to reward the community which helped BJP form its first government in the state.
Former CM Khattar was also a Punjabi.
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The biggest chunk has gone to the OBCs. Rao Narbir Singh and Arti Singh Rao belong to Ahir community which sided with the BJP. Arti Singh is daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjeet Singh, who had also hinted at his ambitions in the state. She is a former shooter. The other two OBC ministers are Ranbir Gangwa and Rajesh Kumar Nagar, a Gurjar.
The two Dalit ministers are Krishan Lal Panwar and Krishan Bedi. The two Jat ministers are Mahipal Dhanda and Shruti Chaudhary, who along with her mother Kiran Chaudhary—a former Congress minister—had joined BJP ahead of the polls. Shruti, too, has been a Congress Lok Sabha MP. She is the grand daughter of former CM Bansi Lal.
The two ministers who have been picked from the Brahmin community are Arvind Kumar Sharma and Gaurav Gautam. Newly appointed minister Vipul Goel belongs to the Vaish community and Shyam Singh Rana is a Rajput.
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It was crucial for the BJP to balance the caste equations to prevent any angst against the government. The assembly polls were fought along the caste lines where the BJP managed to outsmart the Congress, which was riding high on the anti-incumbency and consolidation of the Jat-Dalits and Muslim votes.