New Delhi, Disgraced Congress leader and former external affairs minister Natwar Singh is all set to join Bahujan Samaj Party shortly and has been offered a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh.

The BSP supremo and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has approved the entry of Singh into her party keeping in view his importance in the forthcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan where jat community is a formidable force and along with gujjars are deciding factor in elections. Singh, a jat leader was dismissed from the Congress when his name was figured in the oil for food programme.

Jagat Singh, son of Natwar Singh has already joined BSP and has been appointed as president of the party's Rajasthan unit. He has been assured a BSP ticket to contest Lok Sabha poll from Bharatpur parliamentary constituency. Natwar who earlier had hinted that he might join BJP gave up the idea of aligning with the saffron party after Mayawati's BSP came to power in Uttar Pradesh.

With taking Natwar on board, Mayawati wants to forge an alliance of dalits, Muslims and jats in Rajasthan where two major parties Congress and BJP are pitted against each other for a long time. The entry of Natwar could bolster the chances of the BSP in the state as jats and gujjars which are two formidable communities in the state are currently unhappy with the ruling BJP government.

Gujjars recently launched a state-wide movement demanding schedule tribe status in Rajasthan. They blocked the rail and road traffic leading to the state. The entire state came to a standstill during the agitation. The gujjar movement was so massive that it forced the Vashundraraje Scindia government to invite them for talk and accept most of their demands.

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