NEW DELHI – Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
With 9 million followers on Twitter, the 37-year-old could give the BJP some extra pulling-power in the campaign for upcoming general elections which will run from April 11 till May 23.
https://twitter.com/GautamGambhir/status/1109080949222969344
“I am joining this party influenced by our prime minister, his vision,” Gambhir, 37, told reporters after being inducted into the party by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. “I’ve done whatever I could in cricket, and this is a fabulous platform for me to do something really good for this country and take this party forward and make this country a better place to live.”
A top-order batsman from New Delhi, Gambhir played match-winning knocks in two cricket World Cup finals and also led his club team to two victories in the Indian Premier League.
The ruling party’s election committee is yet to decide if Gambhir will be nominated as a candidate, the Hindu reports.
Before Gambhir, fellow batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu was a lawmaker for the BJP until quit the ruling party to join the main opposition Congress in 2017.
