Lucknow:

Former IPS officer Vijay Kumar and his wife Anupama joined the BJP in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

Several other leaders and workers of the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Samajwadi Party, who recently switched to the BJP, also joined the party at the BJP headquarters in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak.

Vijay Kumar, a 1988-batch IPS officer, is serving as the Acting Commissioner of Police of UP from May 2023 to January 2024.

Vijay Kumar said he joined the BJP after being impressed by its policies.

“I am deeply impressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I have worked with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath). I am deeply impressed by his working style and the positive atmosphere he creates , I joined (BJP). We have joined the party for social services,” Vijay Kumar said.

He added that people have to be open politically, while in policing there is a distance between officers and the public.

“It’s a subtle difference,” Vijay Kumar said.

“My working style is to bring people along. I don’t think I’ll have too many problems,” he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the BJP welcomes everyone who joins and supports them like family.

“I request everyone to join hands and we will win all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh,” Brajesh Pathak said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)