Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned on Tuesday amid apparent cracks in the ruling coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jannayak Janata Party (JJP). Khattar tendered his resignation to Bandaru Dattatreya at Raj Bhawan ahead of BJP’s legislature party meeting.

The ties between the BJP and deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala-led JJP worsened following their failure to reach a seat-sharing agreement in the state for the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP claims to have the numbers to cross the halfway mark despite JJP snapping the ties. At present, the BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member House while the JJP has 10. The ruling combine also enjoys the support of six of seven independents. The main opposition Congress has 30 MLAs and the Indian National Lok Dal and the Haryana Lokhit Party have one seat each.

There is speculation that a new cabinet might be sworn in this evening.

However, the fast-paced political developments have sent rumour mills into overdrive, with reports claiming the dissolution of the current government and a fresh election could be on the cards as well.

A central team of BJP comprising Union minister Arjun Munda and former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb are in the state to oversee the changes.

The whispers emanating from the corridors of power in Chandigarh also hint at the possibility of state BJP chief Nayab Singh Saini replacing Khattar.

Who is Nayab Singh Saini?

Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini, who hails from the OBC community, was appointed as the state president of Haryana BJP in October last year.

Saini’s journey within the BJP began in 1996, when he started within the Haryana BJP’s organisational framework, working alongside the sate general secretary until 2000. Progressing through the ranks, he assumed the role of district general secretary of the BJP Youth Wing in Ambala in 2002, followed by his appointment as the district president in Ambala in 2005.

His dedication to the party led him to hold various significant positions, including state general secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha in Haryana in 2009 and district president of Ambala BJP in 2012.

His political career soared when he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Narayangarh constituency in 2014, followed by his appointment as a minister in the Haryana government in 2016.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Nayab Singh Saini defeated his nearest rival Nirmal Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC) from the Kurukshetra constituency with a margin of over 3.83 lakh votes.

Saini, who became MLA for the first time in 2014 and remained a minister, is considered a confidante of Manohar Lal Khattar. Political analysts say electoral and caste calculations appear to have catapulted the Lok Sabha MP to the post of Haryana BJP chief as Khattar apparently wanted a leader of his camp to head the state unit.

The population of the Saini caste is considered around 8% in Haryana with a sizable presence in pockets of Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Hisar and Rewari districts.