Vikrant Shekhawat : Oct 19, 2024, 09:15 AM
Haryana New Government: A new cabinet has been formed in Haryana under the leadership of new Chief Minister Nayab Saini, but the absence of a Deputy Chief Minister (Deputy CM) in the government remains a matter of political discussion. Unlike the BJP's experiences of cabinet formation in other states, there are two major reasons for not appointing a Deputy CM in Haryana, which makes this decision important.Appointment of Deputy CM in other statesIn the last one year, BJP has formed the government with full majority in four states—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In all these four states, BJP has appointed two Deputy CMs along with the Chief Minister. For example:Madhya Pradesh: Here Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda have been made Deputy CMs along with Mohan Yadav.Rajasthan: Diya Kumari and Premchandra Bairwa are Deputy Chief Ministers along with Bhajanlal Sharma.Chhattisgarh: Arun Saw and Vijay Sharma have become Deputy CMs along with Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai.Odisha: Vardhan Singhdev and Parvati Parida have been made Deputy Chief Ministers along with Mohan Manjhi.In this context, the decision of not appointing a deputy CM in Haryana has raised questions.Why was the deputy CM not appointed?There are two main reasons behind not appointing a deputy CM in Haryana:Avoiding pressure politics: After the election results in Haryana, Naib Saini, Rao Inderjit Singh and Anil Vij were the main contenders for the post of Chief Minister. Many leaders cited their respective communities for the post of Deputy CM. BJP has given a clear indication that it will not take a decision under pressure and Naib Saini has been given freedom. This also makes it clear that Saini has been given the opportunity to work with his team.Representation to all communities: If BJP had appointed two deputy CMs from a particular community, it would have sent a message to the rest of the castes that only a few castes are being given priority. Looking at the Jat vs non-Jat equation in Haryana, BJP decided that it would be safer not to appoint a deputy CM.BJP has made 2 ministers each from Jat, Brahmin, Yadav and Dalit community in the cabinet, while Punjabi, Rajput, Gurjar, Vaishya and Gangwa have been given one ministerial post each. This gives representation to all castes.Constitutional basis of Deputy CMThere is no special mention of Deputy Chief Minister in the Constitution of India. The Constitution only talks about the Chief Minister and the Cabinet. Despite this, Deputy Chief Ministers are present in 16 states of the country. States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Maharashtra and Meghalaya have two Deputy CMs each.BJP has taken a lead in making Deputy CMs over Congress. Congress-ruled Himachal, Telangana and Karnataka have one Deputy Chief Minister each, while MK Stalin is the Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu and his son Udayanidhi Stalin is the Deputy Chief Minister.ConclusionThe absence of Deputy Chief Minister in the new cabinet formed by Nayab Saini in Haryana has given rise to a new discussion. This strategy of BJP not only helps in understanding the politics of the state, but also shows that the party is trying to accommodate all communities. It will be interesting to see in the future how this decision will impact the political equation of Haryana.