Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The announcement was made in the presence of Union Ministers – Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad.
After joining the party, Gambhir said: “I am joining this party after getting influenced by PM Narendra Modi’s vision. I am honoured to get the opportunity to join this platform. I will work to take this country forward and make it a better place to live in.”
There is speculation that Gambhir is likely to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and may be fielded from one of the seats in Delhi.
According to BJP sources, Gambhir may contest from New Delhi constituency, which is currently represented in Parliament by Meenakshi Lekhi. However, a final decision is yet to be taken, the sources added.
Earlier this month, Gambhir was honoured with the Padma Shri award for his contribution to Indian cricket.
In his cricketing career, Gambhir earned 58 Test caps and scored nine centuries and 22 fifties in the longest format.
The southpaw announced his retirement last year after completing 10,000 runs in List-A cricket.
Gambhir’s performance in the finals of the 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan and the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka helped India win both the titles.
