Veteran sports administrator and former Board of Control for Cricket in Indian president Raj Singh Dungarpur on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party at a tribal rally in Udaipur.
"The adulation and admiration for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and total belief in the philosophy of the BJP prompted me to join the party," Dungarpur told PTI.
He was welcomed into the party by BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Ministers Jual Oram, Karia Munda, Jaskaur Meena and Swami Chinamayanand and several senior state BJP officials.
"Adivasis in the Mewar region of Rajasthan have been exploited by previous Congress governments and I would work for their betterment," Dungarpur, who hails from tribal-dominated Dungarpur district in Udaipur division, said.
Dungarpur had represented Rajasthan in first class cricket for 16 years.
When asked about whether he will join electoral politics, he said, "I have been a clean man all my life and I would equip myself to work in my area."