Mumbai:
From musician Bappi Lahiri to civil servants to policemen, everyone seems to be singing the same tune.
Bappi Lahiri joined the BJP on Friday in the capital and in his own style came up with a number to mark the occasion. "Rajnath Singh ji ke sapne honge saakar, Narendra Modi ji karenge chamaatkaar (Rajnathji's dream will come true. Modiji will create a miracle)," he sang.
After retired Home Secretary R K Singh and India's former envoy to the UN, Hardeep Puri, joined the BJP, Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh has resigned from the Indian Police Service or IPS and is said to be prepping to contest the general elections due by May.
The 59-year-old top cop confirmed that he has sought retirement from the police. "So far my sphere of work was limited to Mumbai, now I want to serve the country. I want to focus on working for social harmony, national integration and world peace," he said.
Mr Singh's resignation has been accepted by the Maharashtra Government with immediate effect.
Mr Singh has not said which party he will join, but sources said he is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket. Senior BJP leaders from Maharashtra, however, say that they have no information about a ticket from Mumbai being offered to Mr Singh.
The 1980 batch IPS officer belongs to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and there is speculation that he could contest from there. Media reports also said that he had an offer from the Aam Aadmi Party.
"I am close to every party, and close to none," he told NDTV.
He added that he would like to remain in Maharashtra where he has "served for 30 years."
Former IPS Officer and Magsaysay Award winner Kiran Bedi, who has endorsed Narendra Modi's candidature, told NDTV, "What is leading people to join the BJP is Narendra Modi's proven credentials as a leader."
Mr Singh is the first serving Mumbai Police Commissioner to resign. He was due to retire in 2015. Mr Singh is a post-graduate in chemistry and also has an MBA from Australia and a PhD in Public Administration.