Lucknow, April 8: Former IPS officer Vijay Kumar and his wife Anupama joined the BJP in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. Several other leaders and workers from the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, who had recently switched to the BJP, were also inducted into the party at its headquarters in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.

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A 1988-batch IPS officer, Kumar was the state's acting director general of police from May 2023 to January 2024. Kumar said he joined the BJP after being impressed with the party's policies. "I am impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I have worked with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath). Impressed by his style of working and the positive atmosphere he has created, I have joined (the BJP). We have joined the party with the aim of social service," Kumar said. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Additional 100 Companies of CAPF To Reach West Bengal Next Week

One has to be open in politics while in the police, there is a distance between the officer and the public, he added. "This is the minor difference," Kumar said. "My style of working was to take people along. I don't think I will face much problem," he added. Deputy Chief Minister Pathak said the BJP welcomes everyone who joins and stands by them like their family. "I request that everyone join hands and we will win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh," Pathak said.