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.
Police have traced a man who threatened to kill Bollywood superstar Salman Khan from Vadodara dis
Seychelles releases two Indian fishing vessels
New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) Seychelles has released two Indian fishing vessels almost two months
Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant will be sworn in as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on Monday.
India could be Role Model for Eradicating Malnutrition: Experts
New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) Terming malnutrition a global issue involving people from all financial
Pakistan airstrikes on Afghanistan, about 30 people died in the attack
At least 30 Afghan civilians have been killed or injured in an airstrike by the Pakistan Army in
Chandrababu to meet Modi over 'injustice' to Andhra
Hyderabad, Feb 28 (IANS) Reacting to the "raw deal" meted out to Andhra Pradesh in the union bu
Azad, Chidambaram's son in fourth Congress list (Lead)
New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) The Congress Thursday announced its fourth list, comprising of 50 c
Valentine Day 2022: Celebrate the first Valentine's Day after marriage in these ways very special
February is a special month for lovers. Valentine's Day is on 14th February of this month. Valent
Why are Afghan soldiers so helpless in front of the Taliban?
The Taliban also took control of the capital of Afghanistan's strategically important Samangan pr
During the third Test in Indore on Friday, a case of two fans entering the dressing room of Team
