Dharmendra Pratap Singh is 2.4m (8 ft 1 in) tall
Dharmendra Pratap Singh, who claims to be India's tallest man, joined the Samajwadi Party on Saturday. Mr Singh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh is 2.4m (8 ft 1 in) tall. He is just 11 cm shy of the world record.
A former event manager, Mr Singh said he decided to join Samajwadi as the party does not discriminate against anyone and takes everyone along.
"Whatever duties are assigned to me by the party, I will discharge them to the best of my ability. If the party asks me to campaign for SP chief Akhilesh 'bhaiya', then I will go to Karhal and seek votes for him," he said.
He added that if the party gives him a ticket, he will prefer to contest from the Pratapgarh assembly constituency.
Samajwadi's State President Naresh Uttam Patel announced Mr Singh's arrival into the party and said that this would make the party stronger ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
"Expressing faith in the policies of the Samajwadi Party and the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav, today Dharmendra Pratap Singh of Pratapgarh joined the Samajwadi Party. State President Naresh Uttam Patel while inducting Dharmendra Pratap Singh in the party expressed the hope that Samajwadi Party will be strengthened by his arrival," Samajwadi spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said in a statement on Saturday.
Mr Singh says that while he faced a lot of troubles due to his height, he also garners a lot of attention when he steps out. In an interview, Mr Singh had said that when people want to get a picture with him, he feels like a celebrity.
"I am immensely popular and it is all because of my height," he had told The Telegraph in an interview.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will take place in seven phases between February 10 and March 7. The counting of votes will be held on March 10.
The state is expected to witness a number of high-profile debutants. Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday announced that he would contest from the Karhal seat in Mainpuri district, which is in his family's home turf.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a five-time Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur, will contest from one of the seats in the constituency.