03 April,2024 03:13 PM IST | Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Vijender Singh with Vinod Tawde/ Screengrab
Boxer Vijender Singh joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. His induction was held in Delhi at the party headquarters on April 3 in the presence of the party's General Secretary Vinod Tawde. After joining the saffron party, the boxer was heard heaping praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Vijender Singh said that PM Modi had bolstered sports and added that he made the shift to "serve the people".
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The boxer told ANI, "I have joined the BJP today for the development of the country and to serve the people."
In a press briefing after he joined the party, per PTI, the boxer said that his joining the saffron party was "homecoming" for him and said it was good "to be back".
"This is kind of a homecoming for me. It is good to be back. Ever since the Modi government has come to power, the kind of respect that the sportsmen are getting across the globe currently is commendable," the sportsman-turned-politician said.
It is worth noting that India's first Olympic medalist in boxing was earlier a part of the Congress party who had fought the Lok Sabha Election 2019 unsuccessfully from the South Delhi constituency.
According to a PTI report, Singh'a name was doing the rounds for the last few days as the party had been contemplating fielding him from Mathura for Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Incumbent MP and actor Hema Malini is contesting again from the seat in Uttar Pradesh on a BJP ticket.
Singh comes from the Jat community which yields political influence in many seats in Haryana, western UP and Rajasthan, reported PTI.
