V.K. SINGH JOINS BJP, MAY CONTEST FROM JHUNJHUNU

(AAP) has named Lt General (retired) Raj Kadyan, a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff as the candidate from the constituency. If Singh is declared the candidate from Jhunjhunu, he will be locked in an electoral battle with someone who has been his strong critic. Earlier, the BJP wanted Singh to contest from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency in Haryana, but he was not keen.

When contacted, Rajasthan BJP spokesperson Jyoti Kiran said a person of V.K. Singh’s stature was welcome to contest from any constituency, however, a formal decision on the matter would be taken at a meeting to be held on 6 March. “We will be proud to have Gen Singh to contest from Rajasthan. We are in the process of identifying candidates from all over the state, for which consultations with party workers are going on,” she said.

With Singh joining the BJP and Kiran Bedi likely to join soon, Team Anna, which led a massive agitation against corruption, is virtually disintegrated. The team’s another prominent leader, Arvind Kejriwal has already formed the AAP, which is contesting the Lok Sabha elections on its own. Kiran Bedi is tipped to be given a BJP ticket from New Delhi constituency.

After joining the party, Singh said that the BJP was the only “nationalist” party, which he wanted to see in power. A number of ex-servicemen too joined the party with him, in the presence of national president Rajnath Singh.

“Those who have served on the borders, should work with nationalist forces. So, we have decided to move with the BJP to bring a government which is stable, strong and takes decisions in national interest,” said Singh, who retired in May 2012.

In a related development, Singh issued a legal notice to Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, threatening to drag him to court over his alleged “failure” to act upon his complaints of “sedition and treason” against certain individuals.