Gautam Gambhir at the press conference in New Delhi. (Express photo/Prem Nath Pandey)Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi on Friday in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Addressing a press conference, Gambhir said that he was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to join the BJP. “I have done everything in cricket and now this is a very good platform to do something for the country,” he said. Follow Election Live
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At the presser, Jaitley said it was an ‘important induction’ also making note of the 37-year-old cricketer’s link with the city. He said the party will utilise his talent in a maximum way.
Shortly after the announcement was made, the cricketer met party chief Amit Shah. Read in Bangla, Tamil, Malayalam
Shortly after the announcement was made the cricketer met BJP chief Amit Shah. (Express photo/Prem Nath Pandey)Reports said Gambhir could be fielded by the party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from one of the seats in Delhi. A PTI report quoted party sources as saying that he may contest from the New Delhi seat, which is currently represented by Meenakshi Lekhi.
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At the press conference, Jaitley refused to confirm whether the cricketer would be contesting the upcoming elections.
The announcement finally put an end to speculation about the former cricketer joining politics, something Gambhir had denied multiple times in the past.
Here’s how sports fraternity reacted to it Gautam Gambhir joining BJP
Gambhir was recently honoured with a Padma Shri award, and played a key role in Indian cricket team’s triumph at the 2011 World Cup and the 2007 T20 World Cup.
