Boxer and Olympic medallist Vijender Singh joined the BJP on Wednesday ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, ending his association with Congress, under which he had contested the 2019 polls from the South Delhi constituency.

He joined the saffron party in New Delhi in the presence of BJP's National General Secretary Vinod Tawde.

Talking to the media after joining the BJP, Singh said, "I have joined BJP today for the development of the country and to serve the people..." and the athlete called it a "kind of homecoming".

Asked about the recent athletes' protest against the BJP, he said, "I will continue to call wrong as wrong and right as right," and will work towards strengthening athletes.

"Ever since the Modi government has come to power, the kind of respect that the sportsmen are getting across the globe currently is commendable," he asserted.

Notably, his resignation came within 24 hours after he reposted a tweet from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Singh's name had been reportedly in discussion for the last few days as the Congress's nominee from Mathura, where actor and incumbent BJP MP Hema Malini is contesting again.

Singh comes from the Jat community, which wields political influence in a significant number of seats in Haryana, his home state, as well as in western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Source: India Today