Jaipur/New Delhi: Unfazed by BJP's cold reaction to his plans for contesting Lok Sabha elections, former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat today said he would enter the fray if public desired and his health permitted.

"Janta chahegi aur mera swasthya theek rahega to chunav ladoonga ane wale Lok Sabha mein (if public demands and health permits, I will contest the polls)," Shekhawat told reporters who sought his reaction to BJP President Rajnath Singh's statement ridiculing his plans. Hitting back at Rajnath, he said he has not demanded a BJP ticket to contest the elections.

"I never demanded a ticket from the BJP and if the party does not want to allot me a ticket, it was the party's sweet will. I have nothing to do with it. "I have quit BJP in 2002. I am not even its member," 86-year-old Shekhawat said, adding "Let the elections be announced...then you ask me for any other thing." On Rajnath's statement that someone who had held a key Constitutional post should not indulge himself in electoral politics, Shekhawat said India's first Governor General C Rajagopalachari had contested the elections and had become the Chief Minister of Madras after leaving the post.

"Those who have taken a dip in the Ganges do not go for a swim in the well," Rajnath told PTI in Delhi. Shekhawat had yesterday created a flutter in the BJP when he said he had plans to contest the Lok Sabha polls if his health permits amid media speculation that his idea could be to challenge BJP prime ministerial candidate L K Advani for the top post.

Source : PTI