Lok Sabha Election 2019: It is not clear whether Daler Mehndi will contest the national election.
New Delhi: Singer Daler Mehndi joined the ruling BJP today, becoming the second celebrity to join the party this week after actor Sunny Deol.
Daler Mehndi joined the ruling party in the presence of fellow singer Hans Raj Hans, who is a BJP candidate in Delhi.
It is not clear whether the singer will contest the national election.
Daler Mehndi had in 2013 joined the Congress, just before the Delhi assembly election. He had also composed and sung a campaign song for the party.
The 51-year-old enjoyed immense popularity in the 1990s and also sang for Bollywood hits like "Rang De Basanti". His brother Mika is one of the biggest singers in Hindi films today. In the past, Daler Mehndi was accused in an illegal immigration case.
In 1998 and 1999, he had allegedly taken at least 10 migrants, disguised as dancers in his troupe, to the US and returned without them. He and six others, including his brother, were charged in 2003 with cheating people by promising to take them abroad. Last year, Daler Mehndi was sentenced to two years in prison. The sentence was suspended and he was released on bail after he appealed against the conviction.
Earlier this week, actor Sunny Deol joined the BJP in the presence of two Union ministers.