Three months after announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket, former India opener Gautam Gambhir is all set to start a new innings. Only this time, there will be no role of bat or ball. Gambhir is ready to enter politics with the ruling BJP and in all probability will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the New Delhi constituency.
Sources have confirmed that Gambhir is set to join hands with BJP for the Lok Sabha elections. The 37-year-old lives in Rajendra Nagar, which comes under the New Delhi constituency. Currently, Meenakshi Lekhi of BJP is the elected member from that constituency but if sources are to be believed then Gambhir could well replace Lekhi in the upcoming elections.
The former India opener had been vocal against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, time and again pulling him up for policies or the lack of it. But when it comes to standing behind the ruling BJP, Gambhir has been one step ahead, making it clear that his inclusion in the party is only a matter of time.
According to a survey conducted by ABP News, BJP is set to sweep all seven constituencies in New Delhi, meaning a victory on debut in politics for Gambhir is more or less certain
Notably, Gambhir had also campaigned for Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, giving rise to speculations of him joining BJP. He, however, later on, went on to deny the reports.
Gambhir has represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is scoring 4154, 5238 and 932 runs respectively. Gambhir was also a member of India’s World Cup winning squads of 2007 (T20) and 2011 (ODI)