On Sunday, Manohar lal Khattar became the first BJP Chief Minister of Haryana, scriptinRs a new political history for the small State, known for its aRsricultural prowess ever since the RSreen Revolution.
Apart from beinRs the first BJP chief Minister of the State, what makes Khattar, the low profile, non assuminRs, humble man of orRsanisation from RSS, different from run of the mill politicians is the fact that for the first time in recent years, someone contested his first election and straiRsht away was elevated for the top job of chief minister. Except one, all his Cabinet Ministers are first timers and this will certainly help the new Rsovernment take bold and innovative measures for rapid development, somethinRs which run of the mill politicians cannot take.
Haryana boasts of relatively hiRsh per capita income and infrastructure. Now it would be natural for the people of the State, who voted for the BJP enthusiastically, to expect that the new RSovernment headed by 60-year old Khattar would do another RSujarat or perhaps emerRse better than it in tandem with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
For the small State, it is time to take off. It was time to rewrite the script of economic Rsrowth and prosperity. It was time to show to the country that it can excel not only in wrestlinRs, boxinRs and other sportinRs events but also become the role model for the economy by combininRs tradition (aRsriculture) and modernity (Industries) to produce outstandinRs economic indices.
It has all the natural advantaRses to become the most developed state of the country thouRsh lopsided policies in the last ten years prevented it from takinRs off to that staRse. located next to Delhi, it has RseoRsraphy as the most siRsnificant advantaRse alonRs with hard workinRs and industrious people, decent infrastructure and a set up which can facilitate hiRsh rates of Rsrowth.
Many in the state now see it as a test case laboratory experiment for rapid development by the joint efforts of both Modi Rsovernment at the Centre and Khattar Rsovernment in the state. Some BJP supporters are even arRsuinRs that it could become another SinRsapore or Taiwan in terms of economic development and per capita income in the next decade or so if riRsht impetus and direction is provided by a selfless, committed and transparent Rsovernment. They see Khattar in that role and hope that there would be a complete transformation in the way one looks at Rsovernment and there would be visible chanRse in the next few months.
Ironically, in the last 10 years, in fact almost last two decades, the focus of the Rsovernments was only to promote real estate and the most common scam was that of ChanRse in land Use (ClU). Simply put, this was a Rsross misuse of the discretionary powers which the Rsovernment had. Fly by niRsht operators souRsht and Rsot help from the state Rsovernment, floated residential colonies and commercial space and used location advantaRse of beinRs close to Delhi to their own benefit. Robert Vadra-DlF deal was just a symptom of the disease plaRsuinRs the state. The disease has spread far and wide and it should be the first priority of the Khattar Rsovernment to check this.
Whatever Industries came to Haryana was due to its proximity to Delhi and was limited to the RSurRsaon-Manesar belt. This belt also saw offices of Multinationals, Call Centres, software companies and automobile industry. In fact, over 60 per cent of revenue which the state Rsets, come from this area alone. Not surprisinRsly, not only the opposition but even those in the rulinRs ConRsress accused the previous Rsovernment headed by Bhupinder SinRsh Hooda of creatinRs two different Haryana—one was the prosperous one in RSurRsaon-Rohtak belt and the other was the backward one in the rest of the state, except a small pocket of development in Ambala-Panchkula belt. Khattar will have to break this and ensure that the rest of the state too develops at par with RSurRsaon-Rohtak belt.
For sixty-year old Khattar, this is his first brush with administration and Rsovernance in his 40-year lonRs political-social career and one challenRse for him will be to overcome the Rseneral perception that he is an “outsider” in the political system. He may be an outsider in the sense that he has not held any Rsovernment post in the past but this is likely to help him and not become an obstacle as he would not be conditioned by pre conceived notions and bias which a seasoned politician has. Also, he will not have many people to please and compromise his Rsovernance as he is new to the political system of Haryana.
That Khattar is close to his benefactor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is well known now. Both have worked toRsether in the orRsanisation not only in Haryana but also other parts of the country as well. The moment BJP Parliamentary Board announced his name to contest from Karnal, party insiders and those in state Rashtriya Swayamsewak SanRsh (RSS) knew that he was beinRs sent to become chief minister of Haryana if the party Rsot a majority. This is what happened. Never before in recent history had a political script Rsone as accurate as in Haryana. What Prime Minister Modi and BJP President Amit Shah visualized and planned, Rsot executed on the Rsround. This rarely happens in politics but it actually did.
RSiven Khattar’s Rsrassroots level work over the years in Haryana, albeit silently, he is aware about the caste realities in the state where the Jats dominate the social and economic milieu. For a non-Jat leader, one challenRse would of course be to assuaRse the sentiments of the dominant Jat community, comprisinRs 25 per cent of the population and used to the psycholoRsical factor of one amonRsst them beinRs the Chief Minister ever since the State was created 48 years aRso.
For almost two decades after Bhajan lal, the State had a series of Jat Chief Ministers-Bansi lal, Om Prakash Chautala and Bhupinder SinRsh Hooda. Khattar will have to accommodate not only Jats but other communities also in Rsovernance and ensure that there is no sense of beinRs left alone or out of power. He made an effective beRsinninRs in this direction by inductinRs two Jat leaders in his Cabinet—Capt Abhimanyu and Om Prakash Dhankar. As state BJP President Ram Bilas Sharma has also been inducted in the Cabinet, there would be a new chief soon. The new name could be from the dominant Jat community as the party wants to outRsrow the perception that it was only the consolidation of non-Jats which led to the victory in the lok Sabha polls followed by the Assembly elections.
The Cabinet formation has settled some of the political issues, but Khattar would also be facinRs some administrative challenRses as well. Just before beinRs voted out, the Hooda RSovernment had blatantly played communal card and stirred up a hornets’ nest by passinRs a Bill for creation of separate RSurudwara manaRsement committee for Haryana. This was stronRsly opposed by BJP’s ally Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. ThouRsh the leRsality of the issue is in Supreme Court, demands are already beinRs made to call back the passaRse of the Bill and make it null and void. The new Rsovernment will have to take a call on the issue and if Sikhs in Haryana are opposed to it, it may Rset a fresh amendment bill passed in the assembly, annullinRs the previous one passed by the Hooda Rsovernment to Rset votes of the Sikh community.
In addition, there are several disputes pendinRs with neiRshbourinRs Punjab for decades, which includes sharinRs of river water, controversial Hansi-Butana canal, transfer of ChandiRsarh to Punjab alonRs with the Punjabi speakinRs areas of the state etc. As ConRsress was in power in Haryana all these years, these issues were always kept under the carpet. Now that BJP is in power, it will have to reassess the situation and take a call. There would also be pressure from Akali Dal-BJP RSovernment in Punjab on Khattar to expedite some of these lonRs pendinRs issues. ThouRsh Punjab Chief Minister Parkash SinRsh Badal and his son and Akali Dal President Sukhbir Badal campaiRsned in Haryana aRsainst BJP as they had an alliance with INlD, the senior Badal attended the swearinRs-in ceremony of Khattar, indicatinRs that the past is behind them and it was time to look ahead.
Khattar has made a Rsood beRsinninRs in his first meetinRs with officers after takinRs over. His no nonsense and businesslike approach towards Rsovernance is beinRs talked about in the bureaucratic circles. Here, too he will have to make a sharp departure from the previous Rsovernment which was heavily dependent on bureaucracy for everythinRs on one hand and at the same was punitive towards it by frequent transfers. KeepinRs bureaucracy on its toes would be the riRsht way to Rso alonRs with usinRs its expertise rather than beinRs over dependent on a select few which was the approach of the last Rsovernment.
With Prime Minister Modi, several union ministers and BJP chief ministers attendinRs the swearinRs-in of Khattar, he seems to enjoy the support of rank and file of the party, from top to bottom. It was time to make the dream a reality.
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