Rajnath says he plans to continue as a king-maker

Singh, who is eyeing the legacy of the five-time Lucknow MP Atal Bihari Vajpayee, by contesting from the same constituency, disclosed this during a brief chat at his Lucknow residence on Friday.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh is unlikely to join the government if the BJP-led alliance comes to power after the April-May polls.

Singh, who is eyeing the legacy of the five-time Lucknow MP Atal Bihari Vajpayee, by contesting from the same constituency, disclosed this during a brief chat at his Lucknow residence on Friday.

He could also try for a second successive term as the party chief after his term ends two years from now. Despite battling rebellions, following ticket distribution, Rajnath is confident that the BJP will get 50 seats in UP.

He also confirmed that the BJP was planning to field strong candidates against Congress bigwigs such as party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

On whether Bundelkhand MLA Uma Bharti would be fielded against Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli and actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani pitted against Rahul in Amethi, Singh said, “We would take a decision in a couple of days,” he said.

Commenting on the resentment among party veterans, he claimed that party veteran Sushma Swaraj’s tweet airing her displeasure over being linked to the Reddy brothers of Bellary and the induction of their alleged front man B Sriramulu had his consent.

On March 14, Swaraj tweeted: “I want to make it absolutely clear that B Sriramulu has been admitted into the party despite my stiff opposition.”

But Singh said, “It is I who asked her to clear the air on the issue… there were some who were unfairly linking her to the Reddy brothers and saw her role in Sriramulu’s induction.”