Anil Vij stakes claim for CM post ahead of Haryana Assembly elections

Chandigarh: Senior Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Anil Vij, on Sunday staked claim for Chief Minister post ahead of the Haryana Assembly election.
Speaking to ANI, Anil Vij expressed his seniority and asked for the designation of the CM from the party.
"I am the senior most MLA of BJP in Haryana. I have contested elections six times. I have never asked the party for anything. However, on the demand of people, I will claim for the designation of CM on the basis of my seniority this time," Anil Vij said.
However, Vij mentioned that the decision is in the hands of the 'high-command.'
"It is in the hands of high command whether they will make me CM or not. If they make me the CM I will change the picture of Haryana," he said.
Anil Vij is BJP candidate from Ambala Cantt Assembly constituency.
He was Haryana home minister during the government of Manohar Lal Khattar and was dropped from the cabinet in the recent reshuffle, in which Nayab Singh Saini took the oath as CM.
Earlier, Vij had expressed his discontent on his exclusion from the cabinet, saying that some people have made him a 'stranger' in his party.
"Mana kuch logo ne mujhe meri party mein he begana bana diya hai, parantu kayee baar begane apno say bhi zyada kaam kar jaate hai, (It may be true that some people have made me a stranger in my party, but sometimes strangers do more work than own people)." Vij said on May 2.
Vij had not attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet and left the Legislature Party meeting midway, visibly expressing his dissatisfaction
Nayab Singh Saini took the oath as Haryana CM in March of this year, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar.
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. But, the party picked first-time MLA Khattar for the job.
In the 2019 polls too, Khattar again beat Vij in the race, with the latter allotted key portfolios like home and health.
Voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5, and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8.
In the 2019 assembly polls, the BJP became the single-largest party with 40 seats and Congress won 30 seats.