In a major boost to the BJP ahead of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Ajatshatru Singh, son of senior Congress leader Karan Singh, is joining the saffron party.
Grandson of Hari Singh, the erstwhile ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Singh, 45, had contested from Nagrota Assembly constituency in Jammu in 2002 and 2008 and both times lost to Jugal Kishore, the present state president of the BJP.
Mr. Singh had, however won the seat in a by-election in 1997 on a National Conference ticket.
“He is joining the BJP here on Sunday with his followers. He will work for the party,” a senior party source told The Hindu .
Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi included Dr. Karan Singh, considered close to the Nehru-Gandhi family, in the reconstituted government panel to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, triggering rumours that the former Maharaja might join the BJP.
It is not clear yet whether Mr. Ajatshatru Singh, who has been a Minister in the NC governments and owns the Palace Hari Niwas heritage hotel in Jammu, will contest elections on BJP ticket. A commerce graduate from Shri Ram College of Commerce with degree in Hotel Management from Austria, Mr. Singh was Minister for Transport and Information in the NC government between 2001 and 2002. And when the NC lost elections in 2002, he joined the Congress but returned to the NC in 2008.
