Is former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? There is intense speculation over the move with neither BJP sources nor sources close to Singh's family denying it. News18 has learnt that Singh — popularly called Yuvi — is in touch with BJP via two leaders — party's Punjab president Sunil Jakhar and a young cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi government.
If talks materialise, Singh is likely to be fielded from Punjab's Gurdaspur where sitting Member of Parliament Sunny Deol has expressed his unwillingness for a new term and the BJP too is not very enthusiastic to repeat him.
Since 2009, this constituency has been switching between the Congress and the BJP. There is palpable anger in Gurdaspur with Deol virtually abandoning his constituency ever since he won the seat in 2019. The BJP wants to counter Deol's anti-incumbency with a popular young Punjabi face who, unlike the veteran actor, doesn't live far away. Singh lives in Chandigarh.
News18 sent a query to Singh's long-time manager Aneesh Gautam who hadn't responded till the time this article was published. However, a source close to the ace cricketer's family did not deny the buzz — "You will get to know if he joins ".
Recently, the 2011 World Cup hero — along with his mother Shabnam Singh — met Union minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi. Apart from pleasantries, Gadkari also gifted the cricketer a book. Ever since, the buzz has intensified.
The three farm laws that the Union government was forced to withdraw in 2021 and the year-long farmers' protest alienated a large section of Punjabi voters from the BJP. The recent wave of farmers' protests asking for an MSP law among other demands and the confrontation on the streets that ensued hasn't healed the scars between Punjab and the BJP, notwithstanding the Modi government procuring 99% of the paddy crop on MSP in Punjab and 74% of the wheat crop in the state in the last season.
Hence, a Punjabi-speaking former cricketer who has made India proud on multiple occasions could prove to be helpful to limit the damage in Punjab for the BJP. The state offers 13 Lok Sabha seats. If BJP indeed manages to make him join the BJP, Singh can not only help the party in Punjab but also in parts of Haryana.
Time will tell if the talks materialise, but BJP sources suggest they are 'hopeful'.
