IANS/New Delhi/Jodhpur


Annoyed at not being considered from Rajasthan’s Barmer constituency, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh yesterday said the party was being encroached by outsiders.
Sources close to Jaswant Singh said he may resign from the BJP soon, even as party members continued efforts to pacify him.
Without naming any one, Jaswant Singh, one of the founders of the BJP, said outsiders have taken over the party.
“There is an encroachment on the BJP. It is overtaking the nature and character of the party. It’s so unfortunate that the party has been completely taken over by outsiders, who never have had any respect for the party’s ideology,” he told reporters in Jodhpur.
“The BJP is now divided into two factions, one which is real and the other is fake. But unfortunately, the fake faction has the reins of the party now,” he said.
Sources close to Jaswant Singh said he may resign from the party soon and would likely contest the Lok Sabha elections as an Independent candidate from Barmer in Rajasthan.
The former defence and external affairs minister is slated to visit Barmer in the next few days and seek feedback from supporters before filing his nomination.
“Everything will be decided only after I reach Barmer and have a discussion with my supporters,” he said.
A close associate of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as well as senior BJP leader L K Advani, Jaswant Singh said the party needed to reflect on this.
BJP president Rajnath Singh, however, said Jaswant Singh’s stature could not be measured in terms of a ticket.
“Jaswant Singh is a senior leader of the party. We respect him a lot. His stature cannot be measured in a ticket,” Rajnath Singh said.
“We will utilise his abilities in one form or the other in the party,” he said.
Asked if any disciplinary action will be taken against Jaswant Singh, the BJP chief said the question was “hypothetical.”
Jaswant Singh represented Darjeeling in the outgoing 15th Lok Sabha. The BJP ticket for the constituency has now been given to S S Ahluwalia.
Jaswant Singh wanted to contest from Barmer but the party fielded Col Sonaram, who recently switched to the BJP from the Congress.
Following protests from BJP workers against the denial of ticket to Jaswant Singh, a meeting was held at the home of the former central minister’s son Manvendra Singh on Friday night.
His supporters in Barmer have chalked out a strategy to field him as an Independent.
Some party workers took out a protest rally and burnt effigies of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, holding her responsible for the denial of ticket to Jaswant Singh. They also shouted slogans against her.
“Col Sonaram was with Congress for years. Now he has switched loyalties and joined the BJP. Fielding him immediately after joining the BJP has sent a wrong message to the voters. He should have been 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 equation against Sonaram as there are at least 150,000 Rajput voters in Barmer constituency, experts said.
“He has influence over voters from other castes also. So Jaswant Singh will definitely make life difficult for the BJP candidate,” said political analyst Vijay Sharma.