Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday.
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At a press conference held in Delhi, Gambhir was welcomed to the party by Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad. Gambhir said that he was joining the party after getting influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision.
Gambhir retired from the game in December 2018 and the news of him joining the party was expected for some time. "I am honoured to get the opportunity to join this platform," Gambhir said.
He is likely to be allotted a seat from Delhi for the coming Lok Sabha polls. Gambhir played a key role in India's triumph in the 2011 World Cup and the 2007 T-20 World Cup.
He was recently conferred upon the Padma Shri award. BJP sources said Gambhir may be fielded from the New Delhi constituency, currently represented by party MP Meenakshi Lekhi. A final decision is yet to be taken though, they added.
Earlier in the week, Gambhir had said that there should be a blanket ban on engagement with Pakistan even if it comes at the cost of being ostracised by the sporting community.
Gambhir had taken the stand after the Pulwama terror attack which killed 40 CRPF jawans in Jammu and Kashmir. "There can't be conditional bans. Either you ban everything with Pakistan or open everything with Pakistan. What has happened in Pulwama is absolutely not acceptable," Gambhir had said.
(With inputs from PTI)