Subhash Barala Takes Oath as Haryana's Rajya Sabha Member

In New Delhi today, Subhash Barala, a prominent leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana, took the oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar administered the oath of office and secrecy to him. Barala has been elected to the Rajya Sabha in place of DP Vats.

Barala is considered a close associate of former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana. Despite losing the assembly elections in 2019, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Haryana Public Works Department by the BJP-JJP coalition government led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal. He was then appointed as the Chairman of the Haryana Farmers Welfare Authority in November 2020 while still holding the former position. 

The opposition did not field any candidate against Subhash Chand Barala, who ran for the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana on behalf of the BJP. Due to this, he was declared uncontested by the Returning Officer, Dr. Saket Kumar, an IAS officer. Barala's term will commence today, April 3. 

Barala, who was a BJP MLA from the Tohana assembly constituency in Fatehabad district from October 2014 to October 2019, lost in the 2019 assembly elections. However, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Haryana Public Works Department by Chief Minister Manohar Lal immediately after the elections. Before that, he had also served as the state president of the Haryana BJP.

Given Barala's close ties with former CM Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister himself lobbied for Barala's nomination. He held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP National President JP Nadda regarding Barala's nomination. This decision underscores the influence and significance of Barala's political connections within the party.