Champion badminton player Saina Nehwal joined the BJP on Wednesday in Delhi. Nehwal joined the BJP in the presence of BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha MP. Speaking at the party headquarters, Nehwal declared she was "joining a party that performs well for the country".
She noted Prime Minister Narendra Modi "has done so much for sports in India with initiatives like Khelo India"and he was "working hard for the country" and had inspired her. Nehwal said, "It's a big day for me. I have won many titles in life and have earned laurels for the country in the field of sports."
Nehwal added, she was "looking forward to work hard for the country and the people". Nehwal declared she was “a hardworking person and it will be an honour for me to work with PM Modi who works tirelessly for the welfare of the country”,
Nehwal was accompanied by her sister Chandranshu, who also joined the BJP. After joining the party, Nehwal met BJP president J.P. Nadda.
Nehwal had tweeted in support of various initiatives of the Narendra Modi government in recent months, The Times of India reported Nehwal could be fielded as a “star campaigner” for the Delhi Assembly polls.
Nehwal, a former world number 1 in badminton, has won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and multiple gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and 2018.
Nehwal is a native of Haryana, who is married to Parupalli Kashyap, a fellow badminton star.
Nehwal had a poor record in 2019, losing in multiple tournaments and being hit by injuries.
Nehwal is the latest sportsperson to join the BJP after the likes of cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who won the Lok Sabha polls last year, and wrestler Babita Phogat, who lost in the Haryana Assembly polls.