Ahead of Kerala elections due this year, Metro Man E Sreedharan is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, announced the Kerala BJP president K Surendran on Thursday.

Sreedharan will be formally inducted into the party during the BJP’s Vijaya Yathra being organised from February 21.

Recently, Sreedharan told media that only the BJP can ensure justice in Kerala, adding that he was ready to contest if the party said so.

Back in 2017, there was bitter controvery during the Lucknow Metro inauguration as top BJP leaders forgot to accommodate ‘Metro Man’ Sreedharan in the frame. Sreedharan was sidelined at the September 5 event, a photo of which has gone viral.

Yogi Adityanath, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Governor Ram Naik along with many cabinet ministers forgot to ask Sreedharan to stand beside them while pushing the ‘Go’ button for Lucknow Metro.

A picture of the same went viral – showing E Sreedharan standing at the one end of the stage while ministers were seen rushing to share the dais with CM Yogi, Union Ministers at the inaugural ceremony. The ministers that rushed to push the start button included Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma, Law Minister Brijesh Pathak, Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Technical & Medical Education minister Ashutosh Tandon.

The Lucknow Metro project was completed in record time with the help and guidance of E Sreedharan. The civil engineer is credited for changing the face of public transport in India with his leadership in building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro. Sreedharan was even appointed as Principal Advisor of the Kochi Metro Rail Project, which after many controversies finally saw light of the day after Sreedharan’s appointment.