No. 7 for Anil Vij? BJP veteran confident of extending streak

Ambala: It’s late evening and the heat has abated, yet BJP veteran Anil Vij is still going hard, campaigning in the narrow lanes of the old Anaj Mandi area of his Ambala Cantt constituency, his white kurta drenched in sweat.

As another long day of campaigning neared its end, the 71-year-old is surrounded by several of his supporters as he passes through the busy commercial area.

“Nare ko na naam ko, vote padegi kaam ko (people will not vote for slogans… but for the development works),” his supporters shout.

Vij is one of the 11 candidates contesting from Ambala Cantt. The six-time legislator will have as main rivals Congress rebel Chitra Sarwara and Congress’s Parvinder Pal Pari.

Vij, a BJP leader known not to mince words, is confident that he will sail to victory.

“I am seeking votes on the basis of works done in the Ambala Cantt constituency,” Vij says as he takes a short break while campaigning.

“Our slogan is ‘kaam kiya hai, kaam karenge’. ‘Kaam ki rajneeti aur baton ki rajneeti k beech election hai. (Our slogan is that we have done work and will do work in future too. This election is between politics of work and politics of mere talk. We have work to show, while others merely talk),” he says.

Vij, contesting for the seventh time from the constituency, said that the BJP will return to govern Haryana with a full majority.

The former Haryana minister recently sparked a controversy when he said he will stake claim for the Chief minister’s post if the party returns to power in Haryana. The BJP, however, scuttled his bid, saying Nayab Singh Saini will remain the chief minister.

Chitra Sarwara was last week suspended by the Congress for a period of six years for anti-party activities after she jumped into fray as an Independent. Sarwara is daughter of former minister Nirmal Singh, who is contesting as Congress candidate from adjoining Ambala City

constituency.