S Sreesanth, known worldwide for his arrogance on the pitch more than his bowling, has finally joined BJP and will contest in the upcoming Kerala state assembly elections from Thiruvananthapuram.
The party is expecting big strides in Kerala this time and hopes to attract the youth vote with the cricketer’s entry.
The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party had earlier met at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi to finalize the list of candidates for Kerala.
“(The) discussion took place in the meeting keeping Kerala’s best interest in mind. Sreesanth will be contesting from Thiruvananthapuram seat,” Union Health minister JP Nadda said to NDTV.
He also added that the party was releasing its first list of 51 candidates for the state, which includes the cricketer’s name.
“Whenever I thought about joining politics I always thought about doing so with the BJP,” the cricketer said minutes after his induction.
BJP leaders in Kerala had earlier said that they were unaware of the move. Mr Sreesanth who reached the party office on March 25 was inducted into the party during a meeting of the BJP’s CEC – the top body for election related decisions, after which a formal announcement was made.
Party president Amit Shah who was in Kerala earlier this week, had asked voters to give the party a chance over the Left and the Congress.
