Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar says Arvind Sharma's induction into BJP would strengthen it
Former Congress legislator Arvind Sharma joined the BJP on Friday and might be fielded from Karnal in Haryana, a constituency he had represented in the Lok Sabha twice.
Joining the BJP in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and party general secretary in charge of the state Anil Jain, Mr Sharma hailed the Modi government, saying all sections, especially the poor, of the society have progressed under it.
Mr Khattar and Mr Jain said Mr Sharma's induction into the party would strengthen it.
The leader had won from Sonepat as an Independent candidate in 1996 and then won from Karnal on a Congress ticket in 2004 and 2009.
He had lost to the BJP's Ashwini Chopra in 2014. Chopra has been critical of the BJP leadership for some time and is unlikely to be fielded by it in the general election slated for April-May.
The BJP has relied on the support of non-Jat communities in the state in elections and hopes that Sharma''s induction will boost its prospects.