With the Haryana Assembly polls round the corner, senior BJP leader and former Minister Anil Vij on Sunday said he will stake claim for the chief minister’s post if the party returns to power.
The comments come despite the BJP making it clear that Nayab Singh Saini will continue as the chief minister is BJP wins the upcoming Assembly polls.
“I never sought anything from the party till today… people from Haryana are coming to meet me. Even in Ambala, people tell me that if I am the senior-most leader, why should I not become the CM. On the demand of the people, and on the basis of seniority, this time, I will stake claim to become chief minister,” Vij said.
“Whether the party makes me or not, it is up to them. But if they make me CM, I will change Haryana’s takdeer and tasveer (image and destiny),” the Ambala Cantt MLA added.
Vij reiterated his stand while talking to news agency PTI: “I am the party’s senior-most MLA and have won six elections and am contesting my seventh one. I will stake claim for the chief minister’s post.”
#WATCH | BJP candidate from Ambala Cantt Assembly constituency Anil Vij says, “I am the senior most MLA of BJP in Haryana. I have contested elections for 6 times. On the demand of people, I will claim for the designation of CM on the basis of my seniority this time. However, it… pic.twitter.com/jdwQt9nKSS
— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2024
When asked regarding BJP’s decision of declaring Saini as the CM’s face, he said: “There is no bar on staking claim. I will make my claim, let the party take a call.”
In March, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Vij found himself out of the Haryana Cabinet as Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the Haryana CM. BJP sources had told The Indian Express that by dropping Vij from the Saini Cabinet, the party leadership has sought to send out a clear signal that the “party is supreme”.
When the BJP won a majority in the 90-member Haryana Assembly in 2014 for the first time, Vij was seen as a front- runner for the chief ministerial position. However, the party picked first-time MLA Khattar for the job. In the 2019 polls too, Vij was seen as a major claimant to the CM’s post. But Khattar again beat Vij in the race, with the latter allotted key portfolios like home and health.
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