BJP yet to decide on fielding Jat or non-Jat CM for Haryana

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday conquered Haryana with a stunning poll victory, but the saffron party is yet to decide whether it will field a Jat or a non-Jat face as its chief minister.

Though many names are doing the rounds for the top post, the BJP's most prominent Jat face in the state, Captain Abhimanyu from the Narnaund Assembly constituency, is leading the race. Among the non-Jat leaders, Ram Bilas Sharma, who won from Mahendragarh, is a strong contender. Sharma was Haryana's education minister under the successive governments of Chaudhary Bansi Lal and Om Prakash Chautala.

Clear majority

The party got a majority on its own for the first time winning 47 of the 90 seats, up from a meagre four in the last elections. Congress, which ruled the state for 10 years, was reduced to 15 from 40 seats, while the INLD came second with 19 seats.

"This is a victory for people of Haryana and democracy. I salute the people of Haryana," said Captain Abhimanyu.

Party's senior leaders have indicated that the high command may choose a non-Jat leader to head the government, which most of the time was ruled by the Jats. Sources said the BJP is not keen to appoint a Jat chief minister as the non-Jat communities represent a larger chunk of voters.

"The decision on who will head the government will be taken by the party high command. Speculation is just speculation," said BJP spokesperson Veer Kumar Yadav.

The second reason to choose a non-Jat face may attribute to the presence of Jat leaders who are eyeing the chief minister's chair. The party may find it difficult to choose a chief minister out of the prominent Jat faces such as Captain Abhimanyu and Birender Singh Chaudhary as it may create an imbalance.

Born in 1967 in the village of Khanda Kheri, Hisar, Captain Abhimanyu is the most dynamic face of the BJP. He made a place in the party in quite a short period of time. The former Army officer joined the BJP in 2003 and was appointed general secretary of the party's Haryana unit two years later. In 2010, he was elevated as BJP national secretary. He was also part of Narendra Modi's campaign team for Lok Sabha elections 2014.

The names of the non-Jat leaders doing rounds include Manohar Lal Khattar, who is considered close to both Modi and the RSS, state party chief Ram Bilas Sharma, BJP MP from Gurgaon Rao Inderjit Singh, Anil Vij-the leader who is close to the RSS, and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Vij won from Ambala Cantt Assembly seat while Union minister Rao Inderjit, an Ahir leader, wields influence in Rewari.

Sources also said the party high command may accommodate one of the Jat leaders in the Modi Cabinet to create a balance between the Jats and non Jat leaders.

Bhajan Lal was one of the powerful non-Jat chief ministers of Haryana.