Haryana polls: BJP leader Anil Vij says he will stake claim for CM's post if party comes to power
Ambala/Chandigarh (PTI): Senior BJP leader and former Minister Anil Vij on Sunday said he will stake claim for the chief minister's post if the party returns to power in Haryana after the October 5 Assembly polls.
The six-time MLA's remarks come at a time when the party has already made it clear that Nayab Singh Saini will be the chief minister if the BJP returns to power.
Saini is also the party's chief ministerial face in the polls.
"I never sought anything from the party till today... people from Haryana are coming to meet me. Even in Ambala, people tell me that I am senior-most why I did not become CM. On demand of the people, and on the basis of seniority, this time I will stake claim to become chief minister," Vij said.
Whether the party makes me or not, it is up to them. But if they make me CM, I will change Haryana's 'takdeer and tasveer' (destiny and face of Haryana), the Ambala Cantt MLA said.
When asked to clarify the remarks he made while interacting with reporters in Ambala, Vij later told PTI over phone, "I am the party's senior-most MLA and have won six elections and am contesting my seventh one. I have never sought anything from my party so far."
"But people from across Haryana and people of my own constituency have been meeting me... I will stake claim for the chief minister's post," the 71-year-old Vij said.
"It is up to the party high command to take a call," he said.
When pointed out the Saini has already been declared chief ministerial candidate, Vij said, "There is no bar on staking the claim. I will make my claim, let the party take a call."
Asked about the timing of his decision with polls only a couple of weeks away, Vij said he took the decision after people came to meet him.
"People have been regularly meeting me and asking me about this (that he is senior most and yet not become CM)," Vij said.
Notably, in March, Manohar Lal Khattar was replaced by Saini as chief minister. Polling for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the votes will be counted on October 8.
When BJP came to power in Haryana for the first time on its own strength in 2014, Vij along with few other BJP leaders including Ram Bilas Sharma, was frontrunner for the CM's post, but the party went with Manohar Lal Khattar, a first-time MLA then, as its choice.
Recently, BJP has faced resentment from some of its leaders who were denied tickets.
BJP leaders including Ranjit Singh Chautala, Laxman Napa, Karan Dev Kamboj and few others quit the party.
Former Minister Ram Bilas Sharma was also denied ticket from Mahendragarh this time.
In March, Vij was said to be upset with the BJP for not keeping him in the loop when the party decided to replace Manohar Lal Khattar as the chief minister and bring Nayab Singh Saini in his place.
He had then said he came to know about it only in the BJP MLAs' meeting here in which Saini's name was announced.
Vij later also did not find a place in the cabinet led by Saini. The senior BJP leader had also kept away from Saini's swearing-in ceremony in March.
In April, while addressing a public gathering in Ambala, Vij, without taking any names, had said, 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 had then said.
Vij, who held the home portfolio in the Manohar Lal Khattar government, was often at loggerheads with Khattar when he was the CM.
Vij, has in the past maintained, that he is a dedicated worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party, but whatever he has to say he says it clearly.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
