Jaipur, March 22 (IANS) Annoyed at not being considered from Rajasthan's Barmer seat, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from the constituency, sources close to him said Saturday.
He is slated to come to Barmer in a couple of days and seek feedback from local supporters and leaders before filing his nomination papers.
Sources said that if he was given a go-ahead by his supporters, he will contest the elections.
Jaswant Singh represented Darjeeling in the outgoing 15th Lok Sabha.
He wanted to fight election from Barmer this time, but the party fielded Colonel Sonaram, who recently switched to the BJP from the Congress.
Following strong protests from some BJP party workers against denial of BJP ticket to Jaswant Singh, a meeting was held at the home of former union minister's son Manvendra Singh Friday night.
His supporters in Barmer chalked out a strategy to field him as an independent.
Some workers even took out a protest rally and burnt effigies of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje holding her responsible for denial of the ticket to Jaswant Singh. They also shouted slogans against her.
"Colonel Sonaram had been with Congress for years. Now he has switched loyalties and joined BJP. Fielding him immediately after joining BJP has sent a wrong message to the voters. He should have made to work in the organisation at least for some years before he was given such an opportunity," said a local BJP leader.
If Jaswant Singh decides to contest, he may upset the equations against Sonaram as there are at least 1.5 lakh Rajput voters in Barmer constituency.
"He has influence over voters from other castes also, so Jaswant Singh will definitely make life difficult for the BJP candidate," said Vijay Sharma, a political analyst.
Voting for the 25 parliamentary constituencies in the state will take place April 17 and 24. In the last elections in 2009, the Congress won 20 seats and the BJP four, while one seat was won by an Independent.
Jaswant Singh hails from Jasol village in Barmer district.
He was member of the union cabinet during the NDA government.
The process of getting cases of Covid-19 in India continues. However, in the past few days, there
Names of 8 shooters who shot Sidhu Moose Wala came to the fore, 'crab' caught as a fan doing recce
The strings of Sidhu Moose Wala's murder are linked to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Maharashtr
Israel's diplomat at the United Nations has said that after the elimination of Hamas and the comp
SRH vs MI Dream 11: Batsmen will roar a lot in Hyderabad, playing 11 of both teams will be like this
The 25th match of IPL 2023 will be played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. The mat
Number of investigations started to decrease as outbreak of infection
Gurugram. As the outbreak of Corona infection decreases, the number of Covid probes in the distri
94 IPS officials transferred in Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, Jan 28 (IANS) In a late Tuesday reshuffle, the Uttar Pradesh government effected a maj
Xiaomi 12S Pro: Launch date of Xiaomi 12S Pro revealed, know details here
Xiaomi 12S Pro Launch: Xiaomi has confirmed the launch date of its new smartphone Xiaomi 12S Pro.
Why did India and Pakistan come on a line in the UN over Russia?
In the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a resolution condemning the attack on Ukraine agai
Chief Minister Yogi has taken a big step for the Kanwar pilgrims. Chief Minister Yogi said that t
President Greets Nation on eve of Guru Ravidas Jayanti
New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee Monday greeted citizens on the eve of Guru R
