Kiran Bedi all set to join the BJP?

With the election war hotting up, BJP has never shied away from admitting that they are keen on having Kiran Bedi on board. Though Bedi has openly praised Narendra Modi and had even suggested the AAP teams up with BJP to form the government in Delhi post polls, she had also maintained that she was not keen on joining any political party.

Firstpost had reported previously that BJP has offered a ticket to Kiran Bedi in January, but the retired IPS officer hadn’t responded to the party’s overtures yet. Firstpost’s Sanjay Singh had reported:

“A series of tweets announcing that she favoured BJP and Narendra Modi last evening raised the obvious question – will Kiran Bedi join the BJP and contest elections on a party ticket? Presently there is nothing to confirm that she will. However, senior leaders from the BJP told Firstpost that if the former police officer were to decide on joining the party she would be given a warm welcome. The welcome would include an open offer to contest the elections from any of the seven Delhi seats, but they would prefer her to contest from Chandini Chowk or New Delhi. Some senior BJP leaders are in touch with her on the matter.”

However, in what can be called a telling evidence of Bedi’s inclination towards the party, she wrote the foreword for Moditva-The Idea Behind the Man.

Now rumour mills are abuzz about Bedi finally joining the BJP officially. News channel Times Now reports that Bedi has already joined the party and an official announcement will be made soon.

While Bedi had maintained that she was only concerned about good governance and had always backed Anna Hazare unequivocally, she has never stayed away from either political debates or getting embroiled in controversies. She had lashed out at Arvind Kejriwal on several instances insinuating that his split from Anna stemmed from his own political ambitions. Though she had generously congratulated the AAP after its Delhi win, she never stopped criticizing its policies and governance. In fact when she tweeted out praise for Narendra Modi, Kejriwal said in an interview that she was already campaigning for Narendra Modi, kicking up another storm. Interestingly, she was offered a ticket by AAP too, but she declined.

Another Anna follower VK Singh officially joining the BJP has rekindled people’s interest in Bedi’s political choices. However, she has not made any announcement on Twitter, nor has any BJP official confirmed her association with the party.