Karnal district gets no representation in new Cabinet, residents disappointed

Karnal district, home of two Chief Ministers (CMs) of Haryana in the past 10 years, has failed to secure even a single ministry in the new Cabinet of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. The Karnal Assembly segment earned the “CM city” status in October 2014 when former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was elected from Karnal and retained it again in 2019. However, Karnal lost this status after Khattar resigned from the CM’s post on March 12, 2024.

‘We were hopeful of a berth, but all in vain’

Karnal had become a focal point during Khattar’s two terms and Saini’s first tenure, with several infrastructure and development projects initiated in the area. We were hopeful that our district would get a place in the Cabinet, but it wasn’t considered.  — Deepak Kumar, resident, Karnal

After the resignation of Khattar, Nayab Singh Saini, then an MP from Kurukshetra, was nominated as the new Chief Minister on the same day. Since Saini was an MP at the time, he needed to become an MLA within six months. To facilitate this, Khattar resigned from his position as MLA on March 13. Saini was then fielded as the BJP candidate in the Karnal byelection held on May 25, 2024, and was elected as an MLA on June 4. Khattar contested the Lok Sabha elections, became an MP, and was inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet as the Power Minister.

Despite Saini’s victory from Karnal, he was later given the ticket from the Ladwa constituency in the recently held Assembly elections, following demands from Karnal residents to field a local candidate. In response, the BJP fielded Jagmohan Anand, a local Punjabi leader, from Karnal, who defeated Congress candidate and former MLA Sumita Singh.

Despite demands from the residents to include at least one of the five MLAs from Karnal district in Saini’s second-term Cabinet, none were selected, leaving locals disappointed. The district, which includes Gharaunda, Karnal, Indri, Nilokheri, and Assandh Assembly segments, is represented by Harvinder Kalyan, Jagmohan Anand, Ram Kumar Kashyap, Bhagwan Das Kabirpanthi, and Yoginder Rana. However, none of these MLAs were given ministerial positions in Saini’s new Cabinet.

The exclusion has left the residents disappointed, who had expected a Cabinet representation. “Karnal had become a focal point during Khattar’s two terms and Saini’s first tenure, with several infrastructure and development projects initiated in the area. We were hopeful that our district would get a place in the Cabinet, but it wasn’t considered,” said Deepak Kumar, a resident.

Political analysts also expressed surprise at Karnal’s exclusion. “Karnal should have been given a berth in the Cabinet in the first phase as it is an important district, having given two CMs in the past decade. The BJP has adopted a social engineering formula to appease different sections of society. We are hopeful that in the second phase, Karnal will get representation,” said Dr Kushal Pal, a political analyst and principal of Indira Gandhi National College, Ladwa.