Former Union Minister and Congress veteran SM Krishna on Wednesday formally joined Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in presence of party's president Amit Shah and other leaders. Welcoming the former Karnataka chief minister to the party, Shah said, "Krishna is a political asset." While addressing the media, Krishna said, "I had have a great journey in politics." He joined the saffron party seven weeks after he quit Congress. The 84-year-old leader was scheduled to join the BJP on March 15, but he postponed it due to his sister's death. He had resigned from the Congress on January 29 this year and had said that the party was in a “state of confusion” on whether it needed mass leaders or not. Having served as 19th Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008, Krishna also held the position of External Affairs Minister from 2009 to 2012 and served as the chief minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004.
