Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose term in Rajya Sabha ended in June this year after 28 years, could return to the Upper House from Rajasthan only "if he wants", party sources said on Tuesday.
According to highly placed sources, Manmohan Singh can be fielded from Rajasthan as the vacancy of one seat arose following the death of Rajya Sabha MP Madan Lal Saini.
Saini was elected to the Upper House last year when the BJP was in power in the state.
The party source said that only if Manmohan Singh expresses his willingness to go to the Rajya Sabha, then the party will field him from Rajasthan, where the party formed the government in December last year.
The source said that Singh's name as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat has almost been finalised. "But the name of the former Prime Minister as party's candidate will be announced only after the dates of the elections are notified," a source said.
The rumors of Manmohan Singh being the party's Rajasthan Rajya Sabha candidate gained momentum after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met him at his residence here on Monday after meeting party President Rahul Gandhi.