Khattar’s journey from RSS pracharak to Union minister

Parveen Arora

Karnal, June 9

Known as the fourth “Lal” of Haryana politics, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has once again made headlines with his inclusion in the PM Narendra Modi’s cabinet.

The inclusion marks Khattar’s remarkable rise from an RSS pracharak to the CM of Haryana, and now, to a Union minister.

Joined BJP in 1994

• Khattar’s RSS journey began in 1977. By 1980, he became a full-time RSS pracharak; he joined the BJP in 1994
• He was fielded from the Karnal Assembly seat in 2014, where he emerged victorious and was later elected as Haryana CM
• He stepped down on March 12 this year and Nayab Singh Saini became the CM; Khattar won the LS poll from Karnal seat

Khattar (70) was a newcomer to electoral politics when he was fielded from the Karnal Assembly seat in 2014, where he emerged victorious and was later elected as the CM. He won the poll again in 2019 and continued to work as CM. He stepped down on March 12 this year to make way for Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini as CM. On March 13, Khattar resigned from the post of MLA, paving the way for Saini to become an MLA from Karnal.

The BJP replaced sitting MP Sanjay Bhatia with Khattar in the recent Lok Sabha elections from the Karnal seat. Khattar secured victory over Congress candidate Divyanshu Budhiraja by 2,32,577 votes.

Born on May 5, 1954, at Nindana village in Rohtak, Khattar’s RSS journey began in 1977. By 1980, he became a full-time RSS pracharak. He joined the BJP in 1994, quickly rising to the position of organisation’s general secretary in Haryana.

In 1996, Khattar began working with Narendra Modi and played an important role in forming the BJP government with Bansi Lal’s Haryana Vikas Party. However, noticing the alliance was costing dear to the party, he favoured withdrawal of support from the government. The BJP then decided to extend outside support to Om Prakash Chautala and later that coalition with the INLD won all 10 seats in Haryana in the 1999 parliamentary elections.

Khattar was appointed Chairman of the Haryana poll campaign panel for the 2014 LS elections that the party won emphatically.

“Manohar Lal ji has done inclusive development of the state with a vision of ‘Haryana Ek, Haryanvi Ek. His sensitivity for the marginalised comes from his own humble background,” said Shashipal Meha, former state minister, who worked with Khattar