Cricketer-turned-politician and Congress leader Kirti Azad joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday in the presence of party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee here.
"Cricketer-turned-politician, Shri @KirtiAzaad joined our Trinamool Congress family today, in the presence of our Chairperson @MamataOfficial and our National General Secretary @abhishekaitc We welcome him warmly and look forward to working together in this new journey!" AITC tweeted.
After joining the TMC, Azad said that a personality like Mamata Banerjee is needed to show the country the right direction.
"It makes me happy to say that under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, I will work for the development of the nation. Today, a personality like her is needed in the country who can show the country the right direction," he stated.
Azad was a part of the World Cup-winning Indian team in 1983. A cricketer-turned-politician, Azad was elected to Lok Sabha thrice from Darbhanga in Bihar. He had fought the 2014 general elections on a BJP ticket.
On December 23, 2015, he was suspended from BJP for openly targeting then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over alleged irregularities and corruption in Delhi and District Cricket Association and later in 2018, he joined Congress.
Earlier in the day, former JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Pavan Varma also joined Trinamool Congress.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee is currently on a visit to Delhi and is slated to be in the national capital till November 25. Her visit comes days ahead of the winter session of Parliament which is scheduled to begin on November 29.
She will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to discuss issues pertaining to the Border Security Force (BSF) and the development of the state during her visit to Delhi.
( With inputs from ANI )
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