Panchkula, Oct 17: Ahead of taking the oath of office, Haryana Chief Minister-designate Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday offered prayers at Valmiki Temple here on the occasion of Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti and reiterated that his doors are open round the clock and common man can approach him with their issues.

"This morning, I met nearly 150 people at my residence before coming to the temple," he told the media after paying obeisance at Valmiki Temple, his first public engagement.

From the day he took over the reins of Haryana in March this year, a low-profile Other Backward Class (OBC) leader Saini has kept his house open for the public and he has been known as, "Saini mera banda hai" (Saini is my man, I know him).

When asked about his electioneering assertion that 'charpais', eco-friendly cots, would be kept at his official residence in Chandigarh for the visiting public, Saini jokingly replied, "They ('charpais') are already placed."

Saini was brought in March this year to counter the anti-incumbency wave against incumbent Manohar Lam Khattar for his nine-and-a-half-year helm. In his 56 days of governance, Saini claimed to have done so much development that Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda did in 10 years as the Chief Minister.

"In 56 days, I have taken 126 historic decisions for Haryana's development," CM Saini had said in his election campaigns.

A confidant of Khattar, Saini entered politics almost 30 years ago. He was elected as an MLA from Naraingarh in the 2014 Assembly polls and inducted into the Cabinet in 2016.

Seven-time legislator Anil Vij and six-time maker Krishan Lal Panwar, a prominent Dali face, have been contacted for the oath-taking ceremony, indicating their inclusion in the Council of Ministers. Alongside them, several other prominent leaders like Rao Narbir, Aarti Rao, Krishan Bedi, Vipul Goel and Ranbir Gangwa have also been informed about their induction into the Cabinet.

The oath-taking ceremony here will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and J. P. Nadda, who is also the BJP national president. Besides, there will be all 20 Chief Ministers of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and their deputies, a mega political gathering in the run-up to Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Saini and his Council of Ministers, likely 10, with three slots that BJP is likely to keep vacant.

--IANS

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