"Some People Have Made Me A Stranger In My Own Party": BJP's Anil Vij

Former Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij and BJP leader who was excluded from the cabinet after its recent reshuffle, said on Wednesday that some people have made him a "stranger" in his own party.

Addressing a public rally in Ambala, the BJP leader, without taking any name, said, "Maana kuch logo ne mujhe meri hi party mein 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 own party, but sometimes strangers do more work than those we consider our own)."

Anil Vij was dropped in the newly formed cabinet, leading to disquiet in the state party unit.

Mr Vij had not attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet and left the Legislature Party meeting midway.

State BJP chief Nayab Singh Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as the Chief Minister just weeks before the Lok Sabha polls.

As many as eight Cabinet members, including the CM, were new faces. Seven out of eight ministers, who were inducted on March 19, are two-term MLAs.

However, the former state home minister could not find a place for himself in the new cabinet.

The omission of Anil Vij, who was the Haryana home minister, was even more surprising because there was speculation that he would be one of two deputy chief ministers appointed by the BJP after the post was vacated by Dushyant Chautala of the Jannayak Janta Party.

A visibly upset Anil Vij left midway from the BJP Legislature Party meeting, which elected Mr Saini as its new leader, and did not attend his swearing-in ceremony held later in the day.

When the BJP won a majority in the 90-member Haryana Assembly in 2014 for the first time, Anil Vij was seen as a front-runner for the chief ministerial position. But, the party picked first-time MLA ML Khattar for the job.

In the 2019 polls too, Mr Khattar again beat Mr Vij in the race, with the latter allotted key portfolios like home and health.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)