New Delhi, March 22: Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Former Indian Cricketer Gautam Gambhir is likely to join the Saffron Party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Friday. According to some reports, the 37-year-old cricketer may contest polls from New Delhi constituency which is currently held by BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi. Notably, Gambhir lives in Rajinder Nagar, which lies within the constituency.  Sehwag Declined BJP's Offer to Contest Polls Citing Personal Reasons: Delhi BJP Leader.

Gambhir, who was recently conferred with the Padma Shri and retired from all forms of cricket in December, has remained non-decisive whenever asked about joining politics. Earlier, in an interview with The Quint, Gambhir said, "Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it, But If I join don't vote for Gambhir the cricketer.” 'Haven't Thought About Joining Politics', Says Gautam Gambhir.

It is expected that the former India opener will join BJP as he was a high-profile campaigner for Finance minister Arun Jaitley when he contested from Amritsar in the 2014 National polls, in which he was defeated by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh of Indian National Congress.

Meanwhile, Gambhir has often raised his voice on the political landscape on his social media handles including Twitter and Facebook. Recently after the Pulwama terror attack which killed 40 CRPF jawans in Jammu and Kashmir, he pledged to provide educational assistance to children of martyrs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2019 11:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).