File picture of Manvendra Singh with BJP leader LK Advani.
The BJP on Thursday removed Manvendra Singh, expelled party leader Jaswant Singh's son who is the MLA from Sheo in Rajasthan, from its national executive.
Manvendra, 50, had come under the BJP central leadership's scrutiny after it received complaints that he was soliciting votes for his father in the Barmer Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP had expelled Mr Singh, 76, last month after he entered the race for the Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate from Barmer, protesting against the party's decision to field Col (Retd) Sonaram Chowdhury, a recent import from the Congress.
Following his removal from the national executive, the state unit of the BJP suspended Manvendra from the primary membership of the party and served him a show cause notice for allegations that he defied the party's diktat by campaigning for his father. The state unit has recommended strict action against him by leader of the party in the legislative assembly Vasundhara Raje.
Party workers had submitted "evidence" to their leaders against Manvendra, in the form of photographs and videos. Singh junior was reportedly also photographed in his father's election office. On March 31, four senior party workers were suspended for supporting Mr Singh.
"Morally, he should have resigned from the BJP if he wanted to campaign for his father," Rajasthan BJP chief Ashok Parnami had told NDTV. "I am going to take full feedback on this. Our party constitution states that if anybody campaigns against the official candidate, they can be expelled without notice."
Manvendra had taken a month's leave from the party citing poor health. His wife and mother have reportedly been involved in Mr Singh's campaign.
Manvendra, who was a journalist and has also been with the territorial army, won the Barmer seat in 2004. He had then defeated Sonaram Chowdhury, the current BJP candidate. He lost the parliamentary election in 2009, after which he contested and won in the Rajasthan assembly polls last year.
By ousting him only from the BJP's national executive, the party, it is clear, is sending a signal to the Sheo MLA that he could invite a stricter disciplinary action if he continued to remain defiant.