Speaking to The Indian Express, Shekhawat said the BJP chief “had no right to talk about my candidature when I quit the party before entering the vice-presidential election in 2002”. However, he ruled out launching any regional party of his own.

Shekhawat also landed up in Delhi late on Wednesday night and plans to meet former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee tomorrow. The issue was also discussed by the party leadership on Wednesday after they had finished a workshop to train spokespersons drawn from all state units.

“What Mr Rajnath Singh said about my Lok Sabha candidature, when I am not in the BJP for the last seven years, is not in keeping with the position he holds,” Shekhawat told Express.

Earlier, Rajnath had ridiculed Shekhawat’s statement that “health permitting” and “people willing”, he could contest the elections. “Those who have taken a dip in the Ganga do not go for a swim in the well... Someone who has held a constitutional position doesn’t enter the electoral fray,” he said at a function at the party headquarters.

Shekhawat had earlier told this paper that “like former Governor General C Rajagopalachari, he saw nothing wrong in those holding constitutional posts taking to active politics”.

With rumours doing the rounds of Shekhawat seeing himself as a prime ministerial candidate, the former vice-president said he had “never opposed” L K Advani’s candidature. “It’s the BJP which took my Lok Sabha announcement as some kind of intent of expression for the prime ministerial position.”

To a pointed question on if he would accept the PM position, should there be a clamour for his name, he said: “I will only talk about my plans to contest Lok Sabha elections right now.”

Asked if he would also be meeting Advani apart from Vajpayee, Shekhawat said: “Yes... I have been meeting them, so what’s the big deal about it?”

Shekhawat’s announcement that he was open to contesting elections, at a function in Kota three days ago, has had the party abuzz. The senior leader is known for his across-the-board acceptability and his deftness in sewing up disparate coalitions. Many in the party believe he is “cut up with the Rajasthan BJP”, and this may have prompted the move to return to active politics. Shekhawat, however, told this paper he was worried about “bigger issues facing the country, like terrorism, and wanted to fight corruption and influence of money in politics”.