Could former Conservative leader John Rustad be making a run at his old job?

John Rustad, the former leader of the B.C. Conservative Party, says he will “make himself available” to talk about a potential bid for his old job next week when the legislature resumes in Victoria.

Rustad says he has “no comment” about a report that says he has received and requested a leadership application, but promises to discuss the issue when the legislative session starts next week.

UBC political scientist Stewart Prest tells 1130 NewsRadio a run by Rustad would suggest he doesn’t appear to be willing to move on.

“I think it’s fair to say, at this point, as a disgraced former leader, he certainly is looking for ways to rehabilitate his reputation by moving on to the next thing, but it seems like he is not fully done with this party,” Prest said.

He says a potential return by Rustad could hurt the party.

“This new level of discord seems to be something worth watching,” Prest said.

“It’s almost like we’ve moved beyond factional politics into what I sometimes call ‘fractal politics,’ which is an endless series of divides and divides and divides, where there is no shared basis for a party, let alone shared basis for government.”

Political commentator and This is VANCOLOUR host Mo Amir says that if Rustad does end up launching a leadership campaign, every political ear will be listening.

“It’s his one chance to write the greatest comeback in #bcpoli history,” Amir posted on social media.

“If he blows it, he becomes the punchline his opponents always believed he was.”

A report from CHEK News says Rustad “recently requested and received a leadership application” after he resigned from the party’s leadership on Dec. 4.

Angelo Isidorou, the party’s executive director, says he is “not at liberty to share who has or hasn’t requested a package” when asked about the report.

Rustad resigned as the leader in December after 20 members of his caucus signed a letter saying they had lost confidence in him and the party’s board had declared him “professionally incapacitated.”

The party will hold a leadership vote on May 30, and each of the candidates are expected to submit applications signed by at least 250 members and pay $115,000 to appear on the final leadership ballot.

Ten candidates have entered the race so far.

• With files from Srushti Gangdev and Ben Bougerra.