Jaswant Singh son joins Cong ahead of polls

Manvendra Singh, son of veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh, joined the Congress on Tuesday in a significant development ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan.

Manvendra Singh won as a BJP candidate from the Sheo assembly constituency of Barmer district in the 2013 Assembly polls. His father Jaswant Singh was denied ticket by the party in 2014 Lok Sabha elections following which he (Jaswant) contested as an independent candidate and lost to BJP's Sonaram, who had defected from the Congress and was backed by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. The decision of not allowing Jaswant Singh to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls antagonised the Rajput community that held Raje responsible for preferring an "outsider" Sonaram.Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday seized the moment to note that Jaswant Singh was a prime ministerial material in the BJP, but was denied the Barmer ticket in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Asserting that Jaswant Singh (80) was a target of the BJP conspiracy, he said party veterans Lal Krishna Advani and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi are also victims of the same conspiracy. Gehlot aired his views at a Press conference held at the AICC headquarters here to welcome Manvendra Singh into the party's fold, a month after he resigned as BJP MLA.

After meeting Rahul, Manvendra and his wife went to the Teen Murti residence to seek blessings of Jaswant Singh, who is in a state of coma, and performed the "Havan" on the occasion of Ashtami.

The Congress is counting on Manvendera’s Rajput background to help the party in the upcoming Assembly elections, particularly in the Marwar region. He certainly has good influence in Barmer, while some Congress leaders say he does not have much clout outside the district and his induction may even jeopardise the Jat votes in the region.