Chandigarh, March 22 Haryana Minister Rao Narbir Singh suggested to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday to contest the next election from Gurugram to fulfill the wish of the Ahirwal region to have a CM from the area.
"Contest one election from the Gurugram district, so that we can also say that the chief minister is from our district. Contest this (next) election from Gurugram this time. I could not become (the CM), and the party will also not make me. But you contest the election from Gurugram and at least the wish of Ahirwal will be fulfilled," Singh told Saini, who was also present during the minister's address here at an event.
Industries and Commerce Minister, Rao Narbir Singh, said that the Ahirwal region, including Gurugram, Rewari, and Mahendragarh, has seen unprecedented development since 2014 under the BJP governments in Haryana.
"Universities, medical colleges, AIIMS, a dedicated freight corridor, a logistics hub, colleges, elevated roads, and many other projects have come up. But one demand of our area remained pending, rather a wish."
"Our Ahirwal region has a wish – not a demand. We ask that you fulfill it. From my younger days, I have heard people say that Ahirwal ought to have a chief minister from the region," said Singh, who was addressing a public gathering in Gurugram district's Badshahpur.
Singh, the BJP legislator from Badshahpur, said that Saini has contested four elections from Kurukshetra (when he became an MP in 2019), Karnal (assembly seat), and Ladwa (in Kurukshetra, where the CM is a sitting MLA).
Referring to Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was the CM from 2014-2024, Singh said, "He was born in Rohtak district. He contested and won from Karnal (as MLA). (After he became the CM), the people of Karnal started saying that the CM comes from their district."
"…Contest one election from Ahirwal, and we will also say that the CM comes from our area," the minister told Saini.
Responding to Singh's remarks, Saini said that a chief minister does not represent a single region, but rather the entire state.
"I would like to state that, in the Bharatiya Janata Party, anyone who becomes the chief minister does not represent merely a single region; rather, he represents the entire state of Haryana and works to advance the entire state in an equitable manner," said Saini, addressing the gathering.
Notably, Rao Narbir Singh and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh are two BJP leaders who enjoy the support of the Ahir community in the region.
Weeks before the Haryana Assembly polls in October 2024, Rao Inderjit Singh had told reporters that "it was the wish of the people" that he becomes the chief minister of the state.
Rao Inderjit Singh is the descendant of Ahir leader Rao Tula Ram and the son of former Haryana chief minister Rao Birender Singh. He is currently the MP from Gurugram and a minister of state in the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Rao Birender Singh was the second chief minister of Haryana for a brief period between March-November in 1967.