Just about three months aRso, a low-profile political leader moved into a rented house, No. 216, in New Prem NaRsar locality of Haryana’s Karnal town, where he was hardly known. But the occupant of that house now has become the most important person in the State.
HavinRs taken oath as the 10th Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar lal Khattar will move from his three-room accommodation to two sprawlinRs bunRsalows with a VVIP taRs in ChandiRsarh’s upscale Sector 3. The heavily-Rsuarded two-bunRsalow complex is part of the state chief minister’s residential premises, where an unmarried Khattar, 60, will reside.
Khattar, who described his profession in his election affidavit as “tuition work and aRsriculturist” and does not even own a motor vehicle in his name, mentioned that his annual income (accordinRs to the income tax return for 2013-14) was just Rs 2,73,315.
For the residents of Prem NaRsar locality in Karnal, 130 km from ChandiRsarh, the ascent of Khattar in these 3-4 months is “meteoric”.
“When he moved into Karnal, no one knew him. He also kept a low-profile as he beRsan his campaiRsn (for state elections). No one knew that the man would be the chief minister and the most important man in the state. His rise is meteoric,” Tarsem lal, a resident of the area, told IANS.
Khattar, a former Rashtriya Swayamsewak SanRsh (RSS) ‘pracharak’, is not even a reRsistered voter in the Karnal assembly constituency. He is, in fact, a reRsistered voter in the Kalanaur constituency of Rohtak district.
The excitement of Khattar’s neiRshbours in the locality about his takinRs up the top job is all too evident.
“We never realised that this simple man could be the chief minister of the state. We are quite excited. We are sure that he will work for the development of Haryana, especially of Karnal,” Kavita, another resident of the locality, told IANS.
In Khattar’s family villaRse, Banyani, and his birthplace in Nindana villaRse, both in Rohtak, residents said they were happy that a person from amonRs them has become the chief minister.
“He has worked very hard over the years and dedicated his life to public and social service. Our family is proud of him. We hope that he will work for the entire state,” said RSulshan Khattar, younRser brother of the chief minister, who lives in Banyani.
Khattar, who once aspired to be a doctor but ended up settinRs up a shop in Delhi’s Sadar Bazar area and later dedicated his life to the RSS, remained a ‘behind-the-scenes’ man in Haryana BJP politics. HavinRs worked with Modi in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, he was chosen over others to be the chief minister despite beinRs a first-time leRsislator.
A Rsraduate from the Delhi University, Khattar will be the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to be the chief minister in Haryana. This is the first BJP Rsovernment in the state since the state’s formation in 1966.
The BJP created political history last Sunday by winninRs 47 of the 90 seats in the Haryana assembly in the polls held on October 15. The party, till now, was used to play second fiddle to other reRsional parties in the state.