Caste make-up of new Haryana Cabinet: OBCs get lion’s share; Jats, Dalits balance out each other

In terms of regions, south Haryana, seen to be a key contributor to the party’s victories since 2014, has got two spots in CM Nayab Singh Saini’s 13-member team.

Along with Saini, the party’s OBC face, the BJP has included ministers from the Dalit, Jat, Brahmin, Ahir, Punjabi, Gurjar, Baniya, and Rajput communities. (PTI Photo)

Balancing caste equations and representation of regions, the BJP has assembled Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s new 13-member Cabinet that took oath on Thursday.

Along with Saini, the party’s OBC face, the BJP has included ministers from the Dalit, Jat, Brahmin, Ahir, Punjabi, Gurjar, Baniya, and Rajput communities. Important political players, families, and regions have found space in the Cabinet in the form of seven-time MLA Anil Vij, Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh’s daughter Arti Rao Singh (Ateli MLA), and former CM Bansi Lal’s granddaughter Shruti Choudhry (Tosham MLA).

At five OBC ministers, the community has got a significant chunk of berths. Apart from Saini, the other OBC ministers are Badshahpur MLA Rao Narbir Singh, Barwala MLA Ranbir Singh Gangwa, Tigaon MLA Rajesh Nagar, and Arti. While Gangwa belongs to the Kumhar community, Arti and Narbir are Ahirs, and Nagar is a Gurjar. The induction of Arti and Narbir is also being seen as the BJP’s attempt to give more representation to South Haryana, a region that has played a pivotal role in the party’s victories since 2014.

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Jats who make up a fourth of Haryana’s population and consolidated largely behind the Congress have two representatives in the Cabinet: Shruti and Panipat Rural MLA Mahipal Dhanda. Dhanda and Ballabhgarh MLA Mool Chand Sharma are the only two ministers from the previous Saini Cabinet to win the recent polls while the former is the only one to be retained.

The Dalit community that the party focussed on in the run-up to the polls to negate any Jat consolidation behind the Congress is represented by Narwana MLA Krishan Bedi and Israna MLA Krishan Lal Panwar, two of the eight Dalit MLAs in the Assembly. To emphasise the importance it accords to Dalits, the BJP chose Valmiki Jayanti as the day of the swearing-in, with Saini visiting a Valmiki temple in Panchkula before taking his oath.

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The Punjabi community, which has been a key vote bank for the BJP since Manohar Lal Khattar was made CM in 2014, has also been accommodated in the form of seven-time MLA Anil Vij who is likely to get key portfolios.

The Cabinet has two Brahmins in Gohana MLA Arvind Sharma and Palwal legislator Gaurav Gautam, and one member each from the Punjabi (Vij), Baniya (Faridabad MLA Vipul Goel), and Rajput (Radaur MLA Shyam Singh Rana) communities.