Former Rajya Sabha member of Samajwadi Party, Neeraj Shekhar, was given primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party by state chief Swatantra Dev Singh in Lucknow on Saturday.
The former parliamentarian along with hundreds of his supporters joined the party in the presence of senior BJP leaders, including party general secretary Bhupendra Yadav.
Son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, Neeraj Shekhar said that he resigned from the Rajya Sabha and decided to join the BJP due to the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the support the party received in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
“How can anyone reject the BJP when everyone in the country is supporting it,” he said while admitting that earlier he was opposed to the ideology of the BJP.
Shekhar also disclosed that the Prime Minister himself had asked him to work with him for the country.
“I have not joined the BJP for political ambitions, I want to work as a common party worker. I am overwhelmed by the love, affection and respect I got in the BJP after joining the party,” the former MP said.
Welcoming Shekhar in the party, Bhupendra Yadav said it was his second joining as he had joined the BJP in Delhi on July 16.
“Neeraj has set a new ethics by resigning from Rajya Sabha before joining the BJP,” Yadav said.
Handing over the membership card to Shekhar, Swatantra Dev Singh said that former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar was a leader beyond comparison and his son’s joining the BJP would certainly boost the morale of party cadre.
Shekhar quit Rajya Sabha membership on July 15, a year before his term was to end. He was a member of Rajya Sabha since 2014 and was due to retire on November 25, 2020.
Shekhar was an aspirant of Samajwadi Party ticket from Ballia in the recent Lok Sabha elections. SP president Akhilesh Yadav had assured him that either he or his wife Sushma would be fielded from Ballia but Akhilesh ditched him and fielded Sanatan Pandey from that seat.
Irked by the SP chief’s move, Shekhar finally resigned from Rajya Sabha and also from Samajwadi Party.