Rohtak BJP leaders vie for coveted posts in Haryana govt

Considered as the political capital of the state and the centre of BJP’s activities, Rohtak district would not have any representation in the state Cabinet this time too as the party yet again failed to open its account here in the Assembly elections. However, its local leaders, including some who faced defeat in the elections, have started lobbying for coveted posts in the state government.

Around six-seven local leaders are vying for the posts of political adviser to the Chief Minister, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), chairman of various boards/corporations and members of recruitment agencies. While some of them are in the race for plum posts through their links to RSS functionaries, others are making rounds of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other prominent leaders of the party, claimed a local BJP leader.

“While some of the leaders vying for plum posts have already served on political/constitutional posts in the previous BJP governments, they know how to grab the opportunity and whom to meet to serve their interest. So, they have already begun mounting pressure on those at the helm of affairs in the party for getting the posts again. This time, local leaders have a good chance to be elevated as the BJP has no MLA from Rohtak, which is crucial for the party from the political point of view being the stronghold of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda,” he said.

The BJP leader maintained that since the party had its state headquarters in Rohtak and knew about the political significance of the region, it would take a final call on awarding key posts to any

local leader after considering all aspects such as caste combination and popularity.

“The party is likely to start making appointments on political posts after the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and other ministers in the state government in Panchkula on October 17,” he said.

This is the second consecutive time that the BJP failed to win any seat in Rohtak district. The Congress made a clean sweep by clinching all four seats here. Though the grand old party managed to emerge victorious with a comfortable margin on three of four seats, it witnessed a neck-and-neck contest on the Rohtak seat wherein the Congress nominee and its chief whip Bharat Bhushan Batra defeated his arch-rival and BJP’s Manish Kumar Grover by a narrow margin of 1,341 votes.

Not only Rohtak, the BJP also failed to open its account in Jhajjar district. Out of four seats, the Congress won three, while Independent candidate Rajesh Joon romped home in the Bahadurgarh constituency. Now, he has announced to extend his support to the saffron party. BJP leaders in Jhajjar district are also vying for posts in the state government.