Former Indian Cricketer Gautam Gambhir Joins BJP

Former Indian cricketer, Gautam Gambhir has announced that he will be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His appointment comes mere weeks before the elections are to take place.

“I am impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision… I have contributed to the field of cricket and now hope to do more for the country”, Gautam Gambhir admitted to the media.

The Delhi-born former batsman joined the BJP because he was captivated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

Following Gambhir’s induction, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley praised the 37-year old. He said, “Gambhir has excelled in his career and the party hopes to utilise his talent. The BJP will benefit from his talent.”

Gambhir has expressed interest in politics, especially when he comments on political issues on Twitter to around 9 million followers.

Initially, he feigned interest in the political scene, commenting, “I have got a young family and I need to think about them as well because I have hardly spent any time with them. I do not want to miss their early days and let us see where I go from here.”

However, it now seems that he has relented to all the rumours and speculation and joined the fray. Gautam Gambhir now joins the likes of ex cricketers, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Mohammed Kaif, Kirti Azad and Chetan Chauhan. Sachin Tendulkar would have been included, had be not been.

As of now, it is unknown whether Gautam Gambhir will be contesting for the Lok Sabha elections. Jaitley admitted that that decision was not his to make, rather, the BJP’s election committee. If he does contest in the 2019 elections, it is likely that he could campaign in Delhi itself.

Gambhir is a Padma Shri awardee and retired from all forms of cricket in December 2018 after a 15-year career.