Chandigarh: Day after skipping new Chief Minister Nayab Saini's swearing-in ceremony, senior BJP leader Anil Vij clarified that he was still with the party. "I am a bhakt of the BJP; situations may change but I will continue to work for the party," Mr Vij told reporters outside the Haryana assembly.
Mr Vij had created waves among Haryana's political circles when he walked out in a huff of the BJP legislature party meeting where Mr Saini was elected as the leader. Nayab Saini was appointed as the Haryana Chief Minister after Manohar Lal Khattar resigned along with his cabinet.
Mr Vij was upset as the party ignored him and decided to elevate Mr Saini. In 2014 too, when Mr Vij was among the frontrunners for the post of chief minister after the BJP came to power on its own strength in Haryana, the party chose first-time MLA Khattar for the post.
Emerging out of the BJP's meeting in Haryana Niwas before Mr Saini's oath-taking ceremony, when asked what transpired in the meeting, Mr Vij evaded a direct reply, saying "batane wale batayenge". "Those who have come from Delhi will tell," said Mr Vij as he was seen leaving in a huff.
When asked if Anil Vij was upset over the developments, Mr Khattar had said that the leader's name was on the list of ministers to be inducted into the new cabinet.
In the past too, there have been many incidents when Mr Vij got upset over something but later on, things were normal, said Mr Khattar.
Amid political turmoil, the Haryana Assembly is holding a special session today where the newly elected Chief Minister will prove his majority in a floor test. The BJP has the support of six Independent MLAs, taking its figure to 47 - one over the majority mark in the 90-member Assembly. Five MLAs of Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) are also expected to cross over to the BJP.
The change in leadership was prompted by the collapse of the alliance between the BJP and JJP.
The two parties went separate ways after failing to agree on a seat-sharing alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.