BANGALORE: R K Misra, TOI's Lead India initiative winner, joined the BJP on Saturday. He was inducted into the party in presence of leaders Arun
Jaitley and Ananth Kumar.
After a five-year stint in public life and social entrepreneurship, the 44-year-old RK, as he is popularly known, said he was not hankering for a ticket to contest elections. "I've no intentions of contesting any elections. My idea of joining active politics is to work towards engaging educated civil society in the political process," he told reporters.
Misra is the second Lead India finalist to join politics. Sanjeev Kaura, a Delhiite who was in the final round of Lead India, has joined Mayawati's BSP and currently general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh unit. Devang Nanavati, also a Lead India finalist from Ahmedabad, has dropped hints about joining active politics.
"The Lead India Campaign really changed my life. I was into public activism and social entreprenurship for over five years but I was never noticed by the public. Lead India gave me the much needed fillip and helped me to get noticed by the public and media," Mishra said.
Welcoming Misra, Jaitley said his entry would strengthen BJP since he is a true leader in every sense. "He proved his leadership mettle in the earnest leadership campaign initiated by The Times of India and none can doubt his abilities. The party will make best use of his talent," he added.
Asked why he chose BJP, Mishra said, "NDA's focus on development and good governance during 1998-2004 is what inspired me the most to join the party."
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Jaitley and Ananth Kumar.
After a five-year stint in public life and social entrepreneurship, the 44-year-old RK, as he is popularly known, said he was not hankering for a ticket to contest elections. "I've no intentions of contesting any elections. My idea of joining active politics is to work towards engaging educated civil society in the political process," he told reporters.
Misra is the second Lead India finalist to join politics. Sanjeev Kaura, a Delhiite who was in the final round of Lead India, has joined Mayawati's BSP and currently general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh unit. Devang Nanavati, also a Lead India finalist from Ahmedabad, has dropped hints about joining active politics.
"The Lead India Campaign really changed my life. I was into public activism and social entreprenurship for over five years but I was never noticed by the public. Lead India gave me the much needed fillip and helped me to get noticed by the public and media," Mishra said.
Welcoming Misra, Jaitley said his entry would strengthen BJP since he is a true leader in every sense. "He proved his leadership mettle in the earnest leadership campaign initiated by The Times of India and none can doubt his abilities. The party will make best use of his talent," he added.
Asked why he chose BJP, Mishra said, "NDA's focus on development and good governance during 1998-2004 is what inspired me the most to join the party."
