The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Haryana): Nayab Singh Saini, the Haryana Chief Minister, is seen eating his lunch from a tiffin box in his car during a hectic campaign schedule. In a video uploaded on Facebook, Saini, who enjoys simple meals like ‘Khichdi,’ highlights his down-to-earth lifestyle as he fights the Karnal assembly bypoll. This bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of his predecessor, Manohar Lal Khattar, who is contesting the parliamentary election.
Despite a heatwave sweeping the northern belt, the 54-year-old Saini has been tirelessly traveling across the state for meetings and rallies. Recently, he was spotted playing cricket with children during a morning walk in Karnal’s Atal Park.
While campaigning, Saini emphasized the developmental works undertaken by the “double-engine” government, referring to the BJP’s state and central administrations. He claimed that Khattar’s nearly decade-long rule ended the “parchi-kharchi” system prevalent under the previous Congress regime, where jobs were allegedly given based on favoritism and corruption.
In his rallies, Saini consistently criticizes the Congress for failing to work for the welfare of the elderly and seeking power for power’s sake. He also highlights the BJP’s achievements, such as the scrapping of Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and the abolition of the triple talaq system. Saini claims the BJP has ensured equitable development and provided transparent governance in Haryana.
Saini, who won his first Lok Sabha election in 2019 from Kurukshetra and previously served as a minister in the first Khattar government, confidently asserts, “Lotus (BJP poll symbol) will bloom on all eleven seats (10 parliamentary plus Karnal assembly seat).” In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all 10 seats in Haryana.
Manohar Lal Khattar, the former chief minister, retained the Karnal seat in the 2019 assembly elections, defeating Congress’s Tarlochan Singh. Singh, who is contesting against Saini this time, served as the head of the Haryana Minorities Commission and has been with the Congress since 1982.
Singh criticized the BJP’s claims of development, stating that Khattar’s decade in power had little to show for it. He claimed that Karnal, once dubbed the ‘CM City,’ saw protests from farmers, employees, Anganwadi workers, and sarpanches who faced police action. Singh also accused the BJP government of increasing unemployment, crime, and scams.
He further claimed that despite significant funds allocated for Karnal under the Smart City project, no real development occurred. He pointed out that Kalpana Chawla Medical College, built during the Congress tenure, was not maintained properly by the BJP government.
Saini, meanwhile, has been actively campaigning for Khattar, who is contesting the Karnal parliamentary seat. Saini, a low-profile OBC leader and a confidante of Khattar, was sworn in as Haryana Chief Minister on March 12. The next day, Khattar resigned as MLA from the Karnal assembly seat and was named the BJP candidate for the Karnal Lok Sabha seat.
Nine candidates, all male, are contesting the Karnal assembly bypoll, which will be held on May 25, along with voting for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana.