Metro Man joins BJP, will ‘contest polls, expose misrule’

E Sreedharan (88), the man who changed the face of urban transportation in India, has decided to accept the BJP’s invitation to join the party. He is also keen to contest the forthcoming assembly elections.

The party will decide on his ticket and where he should contest from, Sreedharan, who currently lives at Ponnani in Malappuram district told ET. “I will most likely contest the elections,” he said. The BJP leaders, he added, approached him with a request to join the party and he agreed, he said.

The entry of Sreedharan into politics through the BJP was announced by Kerala party chief K Surendran at a press conference here on Thursday.

Surendran said the official function of his joining the party will be held during its two-week long Vijaya Yatra commencing on February 21 from Kasargod to Thiruvan­anth­apuram to “expose the misrule” of the present LDF government and previous dispensation led by UDF and prepare the party’s ground for the Assembly elections likely to be held in the month of April.

Sreedharan said he was joining the BJP to ensure justice for the people of Kerala who were being deprived of the fruits of development due to the self-centric attitude of the present CPI(M)-led LDF government.

Sreedharan, who played a major role in executing Kerala’s ambitious Kochi metro rail project, also said he would contest the Assembly polls if the party decides so.
The constituency will be decided by the BJP, he added.

Hitting out at the present LDF government, Sreedharan said that they could not provide better administration to the people of the state.

The much-admired engineer who had won accolades for finishing the Delhi Metro project within budget and on time said the interest of the party (CPI-M) prevails over the people’s interest in the state.

Sreedharan, who was entrusted by the state government with the task to reconstruct a now defunct flyover in Kochi, is unlikely to cooperate with the further projects of the state government.