Haryana Assembly Elections 2024 | Tension in BJP? Pradhan backs Saini as CM after Anil Vij eyes top post

Earlier, Vij, who is a six-time MLA and former minister, said he would stake a claim for the CM's post due to his seniority, and the party will take a call.

New Delhi: Despite Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement that Nayab Singh Saini would be the Haryana Chief Minister if BJP wins the elections in the state, former Home Minister Anil Vij said that he could lay claim to the post.

Shortly after, the party’s in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan landed in the state to cool tempers.

Another party leader and Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh has also said he could become the CM if BJP were to win a third consecutive term.

Responding to questions from reporters about Vij’s announcement, Pradhan said that Saini will be the party’s CM face. “The BJP’s CM candidate is Nayab Singh Saini,” Pradhan stated unequivocally. The minister’s comments came hours after Vij said that he will be staking the claim.

Earlier in the day, Vij said that he is the senior-most face in the state. “With six election victories, I am the BJP’s senior-most legislator; I am confident that I will win this seventh poll, too,” he had said.

He added that he has the people’s support. “I have never sought anything from my party so far. But people from across Haryana, and particularly my own constituency, have been meeting me. I will stake my claim for the Chief Minister’s post,” he added. Vij, however, also said that the final decision lay with the party.

The former Home Minister is not the only leader to make a bid for the top post — Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, too, said that he was a suitable face for the chief minister’s post.

“I know that Nayab Singh Saini’s name has been announced by Amit Shah, and we stand by whatever decision the party’s top leadership makes. Yet, the people want me to be the chief minister. This is not just my personal wish but the people’s demand,” Singh had said.

Singh, who is from South Karnataka, said that had people from the region not supported the BJP, it would not have come to power two times in a row. “If southern Haryana had not supported the BJP in the last two elections, Manohar Lal Khattar would not have been able to become Chief Minister twice,” said Singh.

Disgruntlement in the party ranks is a key challenge for the BJP, with several senior party members including Cabinet minister Chaudhary Ranjit Singh Chautala and former minister Karnadev Kamboj resigning from the party’s membership. Former Cabinet minister Kavita Jain and Jindal matriarch Savitri Jindal, too, have quit the party, with Jindal now contesting as an independent.

Elections in Haryana are scheduled for October 5, with the results set to be declared on October 8.