'Not in the race for it': Rao Narbir Singh's big claim amid infighting for Haryana CM post

Senior Haryana BJP leader and three-time Cabinet minister Rao Narbir Singh on Tuesday said that he is not in the competition for the Chief Minister post. He added that the central leadership of the party has already declared Nayab Singh Saini as the CM face. 

"The central leadership has already announced Nayab Saini as the CM face. I don't think they will change it now. I am not in the race for it," Singh told newswire PTI in an interview. He added that he tried to become the Chief Minister several years back but does not have any misconceptions now. 

He added: "I want to focus on Gurugram and I'm in the race for a ministerial berth, that's it."

Rao Narbir Singh further said that he wants to dedicate his efforts and time to improve the living conditions in Gurugram. Singh attributed the abysmal infrastructure of the city to the coalition between the BJP and the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).

He admitted that the city has the worst roads, traffic crises and waterlogging, while adding that Gurugram has turned into a 'garbage dump.'

Narbir Singh further said that the city has been brought to a standstill in the last 5 years and the pace of development has also reversed. 

"I blame the coalition for it. We had a majority government from 2014 to 2019 and anybody can vouch for the pace of development but things went downhill since 2019. It was our coalition with the JJP which is to be blamed," he said. 

He said that the BJP's coalition with the JJP was to blame for Gurugram's condition because the JJP had the civic infrastructure department and they did not do anything, which left people disappointed despite the BJP being at the helm of affairs. 

He is contesting the Assembly polls from Gururgam's Badhsahpur, which is the largest constituency in the state. In the constituency, he is facing a spirited challenge from Congress' Vardhan Yadav and incumbent MLA Rakesh Daultabad's wife Kumudni Daultabad. 

Polling for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana is scheduled for October 5 and the counting of votes will take place on October 8.