New Delhi: E. Sreedharan, the brain behind India’s metro rail project, is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kerala BJP president K. Surendran said Thursday.
Surendran at a press conference said ‘Metro man’ Sreedharan will formally join the BJP during the party’s ‘Vijay Yatra’. The rally will be led by Surendran from 21 February.
According to BJP sources, the party is keen that he contests the upcoming assembly elections due in April-May.
“His induction will boost the party’s image and will also motivate the cadre. At the same time, we are trying to make inroads in the state and if he contests the upcoming elections, it will help improve the prospects of the party in the future,” said a senior BJP leader.
When ThePrint reached Sreedharan via phone calls, his secretary C.J. Matthew confirmed that he will be joining the BJP.
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Credited for transforming Delhi’s urban transport
Sreedharan retired as the chief of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 31 December 2011.
After his retirement from the DMRC where he served for over a decade, Sreedharan was appointed as the principal advisor of the Kochi Metro Rail Project.
Sreedharan was honoured with two civilian awards — Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan — for his contribution to the expansion of urban infrastructure in India.
He is credited with transforming Delhi’s urban transport. Under his leadership, the first phase of Delhi Metro was successfully completed three months before the deadline.
Hoping to make inroads in the southern state, the Kerala unit of the BJP has been trying to reach out to opinion-makers to join the party ahead of the elections, said party sources.
For this, the party has been trying to engage former government servants, retired police officers, lawyers, actors, among others, to help broaden its reach.
Addressing the core committee of the BJP in the state earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wanted the party to at least cross 70 seats in Kerala where it currently has only one MLA in the 140-member assembly.
In the recently announced Budget, the Modi government had earmarked Rs 65,000 crore for 1,100 km roads in Kerala.
“This is something that we have to convey to the people of the state as to what all development work is being carried out due to support from the Modi government at the Centre,” said another BJP leader.
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An open letter to Mr E Sreedharan, the Metro Man,
Respected Mr E Sreedharan,
We the large no. of Keralites living in north India respect you highly because of your talent, knowledge, and skills in your own profession.
We all know you have every right to join any political party that you like. But the fact is that the party you selected now to join is trying to split india in the name of religion, caste, and choose ‘development’ based on party politics. With your such decision you may be downgrading yourselves and your high value created over the years by your hard work. Please rethink on your decision.
Your reasoning that Kerala is not developing is not at all true based on my experience of living and seeing developments in India’s northern belt for more than 30 years. We have all seen what development is taking place even in Delhi, UP, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
Even during COVID 19 situations Kerala proved that it can overcome all obstacles if cooperation of people are forthcoming. The present Govt. of Kerala has proven its worth during the years of flood and flurries in 2017, 2018, 2019 and in 2020. You may be joining BJP, but do not play any passing the buck game for attaining personal gains.
By measuring the pulse and the feelings of the people of Kerala it can be easily predicted that BJP may not even win 5 Assembly Seats in the coming election.
With high regards,
Sreedharan Nair
Kerala’s handling of Covid 19 is an example of failure, stop defending. E Sreedharan is doing a fantastic job. Hopefully, Kerala will come out of its deep slumber soon.
E. Sreedharan should ideally stay out of politics. At the fag end of his career, why does he want to sully his incredible reputation? Technocrats / Bureaucrats should not be always on a win-win ride their entire lifetime. These kinds of temptations start impacting the noble aspects of their career.
He is 88. So for BJP, if it is going to improve their marketing it is ok with such age. for other 75 yrs is cutoff.
He has crossed the upper age limit of 75 year, BJP would use him where required and then send him to give company Advani, Joshi in Margdarshak Mandal. By the way what happened to S M Krishna?
This is a sad, sad decision on the part of Mr. Sridharan. I mean, there is nothing wrong with the BJP per se, this party has been in existence during Mr. Vajpeyi’s time, before even that it was around on the country’s political scene as Jan Sangh, and offered a good run for their money to Nehruvian thinking. There is nothing wrong with the RSS either, they have been around for nearly a hundred years now. Why, there is scope for every type of ideology to find its feet and voice In a Democracy, so a “yes” to RSS by all means. But how can any sensible, respectable and self-respecting human being join the Modi-Shah BJP for God’s sake! Those who were already in this party before Modi-Shah let loose on the scene can be pardoned because this party had become a “habit” for them, and habits are difficult to change. But how can anyone NEW to it willingly become a member of this party today, because that would amount to acquiescing with the acts of the BJP under Modi-Shah leadership! And what are some of these? Is Mr. Sridharan unaware of numerous lynchings which were never condemned even once, even if only in formality, by prime minister Modi? Processions were set out by BJP men in support of rapists while the rape victims were slandered; judicial system was influenced, independent bodies like the CBI were influenced, a CBI director was dismissed in the middle of the night so that he may not order a certain enquiry on the next morning; President of India was made to sign some papers at 4 in the morning only so that a BJP chief minister may be sworn in at 6 in the morning at the Governor’s residence; seventy-eighty years old Indians are being asked to show papers to prove their citizenship, while the same people were citizens-enough to vote these BJP men to power… In last 7 years there have been hundreds of instances to convince one about the inhuman, undemocratic credentials of the BJP men in power today – – have all those details completely skipped Mr. Sridharan’s attention? There is one Nehru Museum or Nehru Library in Delhi, I forget its exact name, whose Directorship has been bestowed upon a man by the name Arnab Goswami. An institution that has always been known for its scholarly aura will now offer an elevated seat to this man who has failed to produce even routine street journalism, all because of his patronage by the current BJP leadership? Surely Mr. Sridharan reads newspapers!
It is a matter of regret and sadness that such an illustrious person has decided to join the present BJP. If he had done so in Mr. Vajpeyi’s time, it would have been a different matter altogether. A great man shouldn’t be a careerist to such an extent. It badly shakes up the faith in propriety, for small men like me.