Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja Joins BJP: Wife Rivaba Jadeja Shares Membership Card

Indian cricket star Ravindra Jadeja has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, his wife Rivaba Jadeja has confirmed in a post on X. Rivaba Jadeja herself a BJP MLA from Jamnagar North in Gujarat shared a picture of their membership cards as she welcomed a big political move for the sports star.

Jadeja, 36, declared his retirement just days after his retirement from T20 international cricket on June 30, 2024, a day after India won the T20 World Cup in Barbados. Born on December 6, 1988, in Saurashtra, this all-rounder has represented India in 72 Tests and 197 ODIs.

He has taken 294 wickets in Tests and 220 wickets in ODIs besides making 6,000 runs in both formats. Jadeja had played an important role in helping India win the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps. He has also had an enviable record in the T20 format, having been a member of four IPL winning teams-once with Rajasthan Royals and thrice with Chennai Super Kings.

BJP’s New Membership Drive

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 2024 membership drive, named Sanghatan Parva, Sadasyata Abhiyan 2024, by renewing his own membership. Modi urged BJP workers to reach out to the youth as part of the campaign. The party aims to add 100 million new members through the campaign. From 2014 to 2019, the party reportedly added 180 million members to its fold.

During the launch, PM Modi said that the membership drive is an ideological wide movement rather than merely a symbolic one, with the idea of expansion of BJP’s family. He asked workers to focus on weaker areas where the party received fewer votes, rather than focusing on regions where the BJP already enjoys popularity.

Modi also reflected upon the party’s early struggles and recalled the era of Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the BJP. Workers, he said, would paint the party’s symbol-a deepak or lamp-on walls and were often ridiculed by their political opponents. He proudly said, “We are those who once painted the lotus on walls with conviction, believing that one day it would bloom in people’s hearts as well.