NEW DELHI — India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday expelled its senior leader Jaswant Singh for a period of six years. This is the second time that the former federal minister has been expelled by the party. In 2009, he had been expelled from the party for commending the founder of Pakistan in his book Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence. 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 federal minister, who is contesting as an independent in Sikar constituency, also in Rajasthan, against BJP's official nominee. Sources indicate that Singh has been expelled from the party because as per BJP constitution, any partyman contesting against the official candidate is liable to be expelled. “Jaswant Singh has exhausted all constitutional options available to the party by deciding not to withdraw from the contest,” a senior leader said. The current rebellion came close on the heels of Advani's reluctance to contest the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar. Advani's move was seen as an attempt by the old guard to embarrass the party's new leadership under Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh.
