Jaswant Singh addresses his first rally as an independent candidate at Barmer in Rajasthan. Earlier in the day, the senior BJP leader had filed his nomination from Barmer. Blaming Rajasthan CM and BJP president for his decision to run as an independent, Jaswant Singh says, "Vasundhara Raje and Rajnath Singh betrayed me. I feel very sad at being betrayed by a few people in the BJP. It was I who suggested Raje's name for the chief minister."

Raje is believed to have made it very clear that she wanted Sona Ram Chaudhary for the Barmer seat since he was a Jat, which bettered his chances of winning from the predominantly Jat area.

"BJP has become like the Congress and is indulging in vote bank politics," he said.

Follow the latest election updates on Twitter: @RediffElections