Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief RKS Bhadauria and YSRCP leader Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli joined the BJP at the party headquarters here on Sunday.

They joined the saffron party in the presence of BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde and Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

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On joining the BJP, Bhadauria said the last 10 years have seen ‘landmark decisions’ taken by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre.

“I wish to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president JP Nadda, and every member for this opportunity to serve the party and contribute to nation-building. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been able to serve and lead the Air Force for 40 years. It was a big honour for me,” he said.

“The last 10 years have been very important because of some landmark decisions of this government. There have been policy decisions aimed at strengthening our armed forces, making them Atma Nirbhar (self-reliant). It has given new confidence to our forces. The steps being taken today from a security point of view will form the bedrock of the India that we all wish to see,” added Bhadauria.

Varaprasad Rao Velagapalli, after joining the saffron party, said he has never seen any leader as dynamic as PM Modi.

“In my whole career as a politician, I have not come across anyone as dynamic as PM Modi. When I was an MP from 2014-19, I saw his dynamic decisions. I have admired how the BJP has been cleansing the system of ills and working towards development. I have been very much impressed with the development of villages and the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society,” he said.

Union Minister Thakur said that today when the youth of the country imagine a safe India, they look towards PM Modi with great hope.

“A prosperous, safe and a developed India is possible only under the leadership of Narendra Modi. The decades-old demand of our soldiers for ‘One Rank, One Pension’ was fulfilled by Narendra Modi,” he said.

Tawde said Bhadauria was actively involved in the ‘Viksit Bharat’ campaign of PM Modi.