Former DGP R Sreelekha, the first woman IPS officer in the Kerala cadre, joined the BJP on Wednesday.
She took party membership at her Thiruvananthapuram residence from BJP state president K Surendran and district president V V Rajesh.
Expressing happiness over Sreelekha's entry into the party, Surendran said that the BJP will greatly benefit from the experience of the retired DGP, who had an unblemished record as a police officer.
"More and more eminent personalities are now joining the BJP. You (the media) have been trying to portray the BJP as an untouchable party. Now the situation has changed. We are working hard to come to power in Kerala by 2026," Surendran told reporters.
Sreelekha said that it took her three weeks to decide after BJP leaders approached her with a request.
She said it was the aura of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that influenced her to join the BJP.
"I do not expect anything from the party. I see this as another opportunity to serve the people. I am not thinking about any position in the party; I am joining them because I trust their ideology," Sreelekha said.
She also said that she never had any political thoughts after taking the oath as a police officer and had worked neutrally without any political bias.
Sreelekha said that she would continue to work for the people.