Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Days after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Barmer, Rajasthan for the upcoming General Elections, was on Saturday expelled from the party for six years.
The decision to expel Singh, 76, for six years was taken by BJP President Rajnath Singh, a party statement said.
The party expelled another rebel leader Subhash Maharia, former union minister, who is contesting as an independent in Sikar constituency, also in Rajasthan, against BJP`s official nominee.
Earlier, party sources had said that Singh could be expelled from the party because as per BJP constitution, any partyman contesting against official candidate is liable to be expelled.
Rebel BJP veteran had ruled out his withdrawal from the Lok Sabha poll fray today amid speculation that the senior party leaders were in touch with him on this issue.
“No senior leader of BJP has contacted me on this issue (withdrawal of nomination). I am not going to withdraw,” Singh, who is contesting as an Independent from Barmer, said.
After BJP refused to oblige the former External Affairs Minister, who wanted to contest from his home state for the last time, Singh filed his nomination from Barmer.
BJP has fielded former Congress leader Sonaram Chaudhary from the seat.
This is the second time that BJP has expelled Singh, earlier he was expelled from the party in 2009 for praising the founder of Pakistan in his book Jinha -India, Partition, Independence.
