When Nayab Singh Saini took oath as Haryana chief minister, there was one leader whose absence became a talking point: Anil Vij.
The senior BJP leader did not attend the oath ceremony held at Raj Bhavan. HT had learnt that Vij, a six-time MLA, had left the BJP legislature party meeting midway.
The 70-year-old BJP leader's exclusion from the new Haryana cabinet triggered immense speculation. Former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, under whom Vij had served as home minister, admitted that the senior leader was upset.
“Anil Vij is our senior leader...It is in his nature that he gets upset quickly but becomes okay soon. There have been such instances before. He is upset but we are talking to him...Our new chief minister will also talk to him,” the former chief minister was quoted by ANI as saying. There are speculations that Khattar may contest Lok Sabha election from Karnal.
Saini, a 54-year-old OBC leader, took oath as the chief minister after Khattar stepped down following breakup of alliance between the BJP and Jannayak Janta Party. He was a minister in the first Khattar cabinet. Saini was an MLA when he fought the Lok Sabha polls from Kurukshetra in 2019 and won.
Five MLAs -- four from the BJP and one independent -- were also sworn in as ministers. BJP's Kanwar Pal, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Prakash Dalal and Banwari Lal and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala took oath as ministers. All the five were ministers in the outgoing Khattar cabinet.
Besides Vij, BJP MLAs Kamal Gupta, Om Prakash Yadav, Kamlesh Dhanda, and Sandeep Singh did not find their names in the Saini-led cabinet.
The change in leadership by BJP in the states is not new. The saffron camp in the past replaced chief ministers in Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Tripura ahead of the elections.
(With agency inputs)
Saini, a 54-year-old OBC leader, took oath as the chief minister after Khattar stepped down following breakup of alliance between the BJP and Jannayak Janta Party. He was a minister in the first Khattar cabinet. Saini was an MLA when he fought the Lok Sabha polls from Kurukshetra in 2019 and won.
Five MLAs -- four from the BJP and one independent -- were also sworn in as ministers. BJP's Kanwar Pal, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Prakash Dalal and Banwari Lal and Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala took oath as ministers. All the five were ministers in the outgoing Khattar cabinet.
Besides Vij, BJP MLAs Kamal Gupta, Om Prakash Yadav, Kamlesh Dhanda, and Sandeep Singh did not find their names in the Saini-led cabinet.
The change in leadership by BJP in the states is not new. The saffron camp in the past replaced chief ministers in Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Tripura ahead of the elections.
(With agency inputs)