File pic: Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh
A day after LK Advani's capitulation on where he will contest the national election from, the BJP has reportedly denied another veteran, Jaswant Singh, a ticket to contest from the seat of his choice in Rajasthan.
Mr Singh, 75, wanted to contest the election from Barmer. He had reportedly told his party that he wants to contest what is likely to be his last election, from the constituency where he was born.
The seat has now been awarded to Col (Retd.) Sona Ram Choudhary, who defected to the BJP from the Congress earlier this week. The former army officer has represented Barmer in Parliament earlier, but was defeated in the 2004 election by Mr Singh's son Manavendra, who is now a member of the state legislature.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has reportedly told the party's top leaders that the retired colonel, who is a Jat, could be a big draw in Barmer. Jats are the dominant community in Barmer. Mr Singh, on the other hand, is a Thakur.
Mr Singh has reportedly threatened to contest as an independent candidate if he is not granted his wish.
Mr Singh has won Lok Sabha elections before from Chittorgarh in Rajasthan in 1991 and 1996 and from Darjeeling in West Bengal in 2009.
Sources close to Mr Singh, who was a cabinet minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government, say he is popular among the Muslim voters, who comprise some 14% of the electorate in Barmer.
On Thursday, after long hours of coaxing by top BJP leaders, Mr Advani agreed to run from Gandhinagar in Narendra Modi's Gujarat, though he had made it clear that he preferred Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.