JOIN USJaswant Singh, who walked out of the BJP after the party refused to field him in the Lok Sabha polls from his family seat of Barmer – which he eventually lost – is badly hoping to return to the party and get a role in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dispensation.
Though the BJP is silent on Singh’s rehabilitation in the party, sources close to the rebel leader are positive about him getting a slot in the NDA set-up. The role could be either of a governor or an interlocutor to give weightage to the country’s bilateral relations with an important foreign nation. It could be even for Indo-US relations, a close associate of Singh said.
Rumour machines started milling following Singh’s meeting with BJP patriarch L K Advani days after the electoral results. Singh, however, lost the polls to BJP candidate Col Sonaram Chaudhary by a margin of more than 87,000 votes. He was expelled from the party for six years for contesting as an independent candidate.
Modi had also replied to a letter Singh wrote after the poll victory, recognising his contribution to the party. Though the party had denied him the Barmer ticket owing to strong opposition from Rajasthan CM Vasundhra Raje, the top brass was open to adjusting him in the establishment in a manner he could contribute to the nation building.
A section of leaders, led by Advani, have not lost their affinity towards Singh as they have grown and worked with him in the first NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Even External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had openly expressed that she did not like the manner in which the issue surrounding Jaswant Singh was handled.