New Delhi, May 22: Is “disgraced” former Union minister Jaswant Singh inching back towards BJP, which had expelled him for writing Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s biography? Speculation is rife after he recently travelled with senior BJP leaders on a private plane from Delhi to Jaipur to attend former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s funeral.
Jaswant was reportedly approached by veteran LK Advani to accompany him on the Jaipur-bound plane and he seized the opportunity.
Jaswant has been since heaping praise on Advani for the courtesy. “I think it was very courteous of Advaniji to invite me to join him and some of his other colleagues for going to Jaipur to attend Bhairon Singhji’s funeral,” he subsequently told a private TV channel.
Political pundits consider it a small but significant step forward for Jaswant to mend fences with BJP, but there is not much hope that the party would accept or the former minister would immediately return, given the internal developments in BJP.
Jaswant left everyone guessing as he neither confirmed nor denied whether he was on course to reconciling with BJP. Asked if he would deny returning to BJP, he said, “I am not affirming.” His return to BJP at the behest of Advani seems difficult, given the former deputy PM’s loosening hold on the organisation.
–Agencies–