Shekhawat plays seniority card for top post race

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New Delhi: Attempting to reopen the leadership issue in the BJP, former Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat threw a virtual challenge to the party’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani on Thursday when he said he might contest the coming Lok Sabha polls and invoked seniority among saffron leaders to imply he was in the race for the top post.

‘‘Advaniji may be the PM candidate, but others too can contest Lok Sabha polls. He is not the only one contesting elections,’’ Shekhawat told reporters here even as he pointed out that ‘‘agewise I am the senior-most’’. The former Vice-President said he would contest the Lok Sabha elections if the public demands and his health permits. For added measure, he said that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee too should contest elections if his health improves.

Addressing a press conference here, the former BJP leader also rejected party president Rajnath Singh’s contention that those who had enjoyed constitutional post of President or Vice-President, should not indulge in electoral politics. Shekhawat lashed out at him saying there was no such provision in the Constitution. ‘‘I may have taken a dip in the Ganges, but I have also bathed on wells,’’ he retorted to the party president’s comments on the issue. ‘‘There is no such law which says that a former Vice-President cannot contest Lok Sabha elections,’’ he said.