Jaswant Singh's son Manvendra quits BJP ahead of Rajasthan polls, to contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Barmer-Jaisalmer

Jaipur: Former Union minister Jaswant Singh’s son and BJP MLA from Sheo constituency in Rajasthan, Manvendra Singh, on Saturday announced his decision to sever ties with the party. He made the announcement while addressing a mammoth “Swabhimaan Rally” in Pachpadra of Barmer district. [caption id=“attachment_5242181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Manvendra Singh. ANI[/caption] The differences between Manvendra and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surfaced in 2014 when his father Jaswant Singh was denied ticket from Barmer parliamentary seat, from where the party fielded Colonel Sonaram. Jaswant Singh still contested as an Independent and lost the election. On Saturday, amid thousands of supporters, he raised a slogan “Kamal Ka Phool, Badi Bhool” in the rally. He said that he had been maintaining silence for the last four and a half years obeying senior leaders of the party. “But, now I have lost all my patience.” He also sought opinion on his decision from the people attending the rally, to which the crowd responded saying “BJP Chhodo” in unison. The rally was attended by many senior leaders from the Rajput community. Speaking on the occasion, he said: “My fight for self-respect will spread to the entire state and its impact will also echo at the central level. Pachpadra is the starting point of this storm and its impact will also reach Jaipur.” However, Manvendra has not yet disclosed the course his political career will take from here on, but announced that he will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, speculations are rife that he would join the Congress party soon. When contacted, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) President Sachin Pilot told IANS that he would not make any comments on the matter now. However, he said that the list of BJP leaders leaving the party is getting longer which shows that all is not well with the party. “Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje should introspect on this issue,” he added.