He may not like it but his colleagues in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha sum up the four-time MLA from Ambala Cantt, Anil Vij, as one full of fizz. For his party, the BJP, he is an asset.
While the MLAs of t he Congress and even the principal opposition party, the INLD, do not seem to have been taking Vij (71) seriously, for the BJP, he is one of the firebrand orators and hence its leader of legislative group in the assembly. For the BJP, he upped the ante whenever there was an opportunity (or even in absence of it) to raise an issue against the government.
Vij has been an asset for the BJP and the party knows it well. He won on the BJP ticket in 1990, but parted ways in 1995 and contested the 1996 assembly polls as an Independent and won. He again won as an Independent in 2000, but lost in 2005 by a thin margin of 600 votes. The BJP took him back in its fold, gave him ticket in 2009, when he won again. Interestingly enough, he also earned praises — for political reasons though — from former chief ministers Bansi Lal and Om Prakash Chautala in public rallies.
On the floor of the House, Vij has been known for his presence — he has been one of the most regular as far as attendance is concerned — and for his presence of mind. Also, he does not let any opportunity go without participation, which has mostly been government bashing.
{{/usCountry}}On the floor of the House, Vij has been known for his presence — he has been one of the most regular as far as attendance is concerned — and for his presence of mind. Also, he does not let any opportunity go without participation, which has mostly been government bashing.
{{/usCountry}}However, what he has been known most for is his pleas laced with temperamental strands for the time to speak, which, being an opposition leader was mostly denied. It’s this paradox for which he created a lot of fizz and that too to an extent that his colleagues from treasury benches as well as INLD opted not to take him seriously. Result? His pleas mostly remained unheeded.
However, in his constituency, Vij has been known for being on the ground zero as regards the people’s expectations or demands. Be it an occasion to celebrate or mourn, he had always been there and the same applied to when it came to representing people’s plights or expectations to the appropriate authorities. However, that his pleas bore no or little fruit goes without saying.
An unassuming Vij, formerly a bank employee, appears to have all his time for people. For being single, he seems to have hardly any personal or family chores and is, most of time, accessible at party office or his residence.