New Delhi: Cricketer-turned-politician and suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad on Monday joined the Congress in the presence of party President Rahul Gandhi. Azad, who represents Darbhanga constituency in Bihar in the Lok Sabha, was to join the Congress on February 15 but following the suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, the event was postponed to Monday.

A three-time MP, Azad was suspended from the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015 for his allegations of "corruption" in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), then headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. "Today in front of Rahul Gandhi I joined the Congress, I felicitated him in traditional Mithila style," said Azad announcing his formal induction in the Congress. Following his suspension, there was speculation that he may join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), especially after his wife Poonam Azad joined it in 2016. In April 2017, Poonam joined the Congress. An aggressive batsman, Azad was part of India's 1983 World Cup winning team. Son of former Bihar Chief Minister Bhagwat Jha Azad, he was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Darbhanga in 1999.