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Former Haryana home minister Anil Vij, who did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of new chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and other ministers at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday, said he will take part in the floor test to be held on Wednesday.
“I am a ‘bhakt’ of the BJP. Circumstances keep on changing, but I have worked for the party in every situation. I will work today as well and with more power. Situations may change but I will continue to work for the party,” Anil Vij told reporters in Ambala, before leaving for Chandigarh.
On Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party replaced Manohar Lal Khattar with OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini as Haryana’s chief minister in a swift switch in the state, just weeks ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Follow Live Updates on Haryana floor test
Nayab Singh Saini, who is the party’s state unit president, was sworn in as chief minister along with five ministers at a Raj Bhawan ceremony hours after the dramatic resignation of Manohar Lal Khattar and his cabinet.
Anil Vij, who was often at loggerheads with the chief minister, was upset over being “ignored” by the party.
“I’m a devotee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Circumstances keep on changing, but I’ve worked for the party in every situation. I will work today as well and with more power,”
Anil Vij’s statement paved the way for a possible round of talks that failed on Tuesday after he left the legislative party meeting halfway as soon as Nayab Saini, the Kurukshetra MP, was chosen as the next chief minister.
Upset Anil Vij, a six-time MLA from Ambala Cantonment, skipped the oath- taking ceremony and chose to stay in his constituency, even as his name was on the list of council of ministers.
Manohar Lal Khattar had said renewed efforts would be made to reach out to Anil Vij. ML Khattar’s second term as chief minister was ending in October, when the next assembly elections are due.
Only on Monday, he shared the dais in Gurugram with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the launch of several road projects. Modi spoke warmly there about his “old association” with ML Khattar, recalling that the two had travelled through the state on a motorcycle.
Khattar on Tuesday said the party leadership has told him that he will be given another responsibility. “Maybe it is about the Lok Sabha polls,” he said amid speculation that he may be fielded as the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Karnal. He also claimed he has come to know that Dushyant Chautala’s JJP has decided to contest the coming polls on its own.
The JJP, which had three ministers including deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala in the 14-member Khattar cabinet, held its own meeting Tuesday in Delhi.
Five of the JJP’s MLAs in Haryana are said to have skipped the meeting and four were seen at the swearing-in, triggering speculation over a possible rift in that party.
(With inputs from agencies)
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