Rajasthan BJP MLA and former minister Jaswant Singh Yadav dies at 73

Jaswant Singh Yadav, a veteran BJP leader who held multiple portfolios under Vasundhara Raje, passed away on Sunday morning after a prolonged career in public life.

Rajasthan BJP MLA and former minister Jaswant Singh Yadav died Sunday morning while undergoing treatment at a Jaipur hospital. He was 73. In a social media post, his son Mohit Yadav said Jaswant Singh Yadav died at 8.15 am. His last rites will be conducted at his native Silpata village in Alwar at 3 pm Monday.

Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagde expressed his condolences, while former chief minister Vasundhara Raje said that Yadav's death is "extremely sad and painful".

"Throughout his long political and social career, Dr Jaswant Yadav made significant contributions to the region's development and public welfare, prioritising public service. His dedication to public welfare and his connection with the people will always be remembered. His passing is an irreparable loss to the BJP family," she said.

Extending condolences, former Congress chief minister Ashok Gehlot said, "The news of the passing of former minister and Behror MLA Dr Jaswant Yadav is deeply saddening. He was an experienced leader with a long public life."

Four-time MLA

A zila pramukh in Alwar in the mid-1990s, Jaswant Singh Yadav was elected as a BJP MLA from Alwar's Mundawar in 1998 on a BJP ticket. However, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Alwar just a few months later in 1999, his only term, and resigned as an MLA.

He then shifted to Alwar's Behror and won the seat on a BJP ticket in 2008, a seat he retained in 2013. Under the Vasundhara Raje government (2013-18), he held multiple portfolios as a Cabinet minister.

In 2018, his son Mohit Yadav was fielded from Behror on a BJP ticket but came third behind Independent Baljeet Yadav and Congress candidate Ramchandra Yadav. In 2023, however, Jaswant Singh had the last laugh as he defeated Baljeet, with whom the family has shared a bitter equation.

In December 2020, then MLA Baljeet went to a stadium armed with sticks to challenge Jaswant Singh for a "duel". Baljeet claimed he was responding to a challenge and dared the former minister's son to a race. In January 2021, Mohit was allegedly attacked by unidentified men, with Jaswant accusing Baljeet of orchestrating the attack, following which police registered an FIR against Baljeet.

2018 Lok Sabha bypoll

In 2018, fielded in a Lok Sabha bypoll for Alwar, and ahead of the Assembly polls later that year, Jaswant Yadav changed tack and made news for his controversial and often communal remarks, which came in the backdrop of the region becoming a hotbed for alleged cow smuggling and cow vigilantism; the 2017 Rakbar Khan lynching happened in his constituency.

Early in 2018, during the Lok Sabha bypoll, Jaswant said that Meo Muslims told him they could vote for him but not for the BJP, as the BJP is a party of Hindus. "This must mean Congress is a party of Muslims. So, the Hindus should vote for me, and Muslims [should vote] for Congress," he was seen saying in a viral video, leading to the Congress filing a complaint with the Election Commission. Yadav, however, denied making the statement.

The same year, in the context of Pehlu Khan and the alleged cow smuggling cases, Yadav said that Muslims should stop smuggling cows, and that cow smuggling hurts Hindu sentiments.

After West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee had accused the BJP of trying to create an "atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism and Talibani communalism" following Pehlu Khan's death, Yadav said that "she should leave Hinduism... her mental condition is not good".

While Jaswant Yadav lost the Lok Sabha bypoll, his son Mohit lost the Assembly poll later that year. Jaswant was re-elected from Behror on a BJP ticket in 2023.