Tamil Nadu assembly elections 2021: Former India cricketer L Sivaramakrishnan joins BJP

Chennai, Dec 30: Former India leg-spinner and cricket commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan on Wednesday joined the BJP in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in the presence of national secretary and Tamil Nadu in-charge CT Ravi.

It can be seen that this comes ahead of the 2021 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu where the BJP is trying to make a mark and is on a recruiting spree.

Earlier, actor-turned BJP politician Khushboo Sundar, who quit Congress in October, posted a tweet claiming that two of her "good friends" were joining the party. Tamil actor PA Subramaniam and functionaries from the DMK and CPI (M) joined the BJP on Wednesday.

Sivaramakrishnan's political foray comes as a surprise. Popularly known as Siva, he was first noticed during his Ranji trophy debut against Delhi and was picked as part of the Indian team that went to Pakistan in 1982-83.

After his retirement, he turned commentator. He is a player's representative of the ICC's cricket committee.

The BJP is presently in alliance with the ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu. CT Ravi said he hoped Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, who has decided not to enter politics, would support the NDA alliance.