Jaswant Singh: An astute politician and Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'Man Friday'

Veteran BJP leader and former Union Minister Jaswant Singh breathed his last on Sunday. He was 82.

According to Army Hospital (R&R), Delhi, Major Jaswant Singh (Retired), former Cabinet Minister, passed away at 6:55 am today. 

He was admitted on 25 June and was being treated for Sepsis with Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome. He had a cardiac arrest this morning. His COVID status is negative.

The veteran BJP leader had first served in the Indian Army before joining politics. He served as a member of both the Houses of the Parliament and held several important positions in the NDA Cabinet.

A soft-spoken man, former BJP leader Jaswant Singh was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a leading light of the party when Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishan Advani helmed it through the tumultuous period of Indian politics. And with his demise, another party stalwart of that era has passed into eternity.

Given that he had retired as a Major-rank officer from the Indian Army, it was no surprise that he was very punctual in his meetings with different people.

Singh was one of the key ministers who were in the forefront when Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government was in power at the Centre at different points in time. He was Minister for Finance, Minister for Defence and Minister for External Affairs during the government led by Vajpayee. He first served as the Union Finance Minister in the shortlived Vajpayee government in 1996. He became the External Affairs Minister in the next Vajpayee-led government (1998-2002). Later, he was again given the charge of finance in 2002. The veteran leader was also Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission at one point in time.

The BJP leader was made the Defence Minister following the resignation of George Fernandes after the latter's name cropped up in a defence scam.

In the Indian Airlines' IC-814 flight highjacking  December 1999, he had reportedly escorted three terrorists--Omar Saeed Sheikh, Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar and Azhar Masood--to Kandahar in exchange for 175 passengers. 

After the 1998 nuclear tests by India, Jaswant Singh was deputed by then Prime Minister Vajpayee to engage the US in strategic talks.

In 2009, Singh was expelled from the BJP following alleged remarks in his book 'Jinnah-India, Partition, Independence'. He rejoined the BJP in 2010.

However, he contested as an Independent candidate from Barmer district in Rajasthan after he was reportedly denied a BJP ticket in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. He lost the election to Colonel Sona Ram of the BJP.

Singh was born on January 3, 1938, in village Jasol, Railway Station Balotara, District Barmer (Rajasthan).