CHENNAI: Actor-turned-politician Khushbu Sundar will join the BJP on Monday in New Delhi, sources in the saffron party in Chennai said late Sunday night. However, Khushbu, a national spokesperson of the Congress party, could not be reached for comment. She had refused to answer questions from reporters on this while at the airport earlier in the evening.
A BJP party source told TNIE that Khushbu will join the party in presence of the party's national president JP Nadda. BJP sources also said an IRS officer from Tamil Nadu and a Youtuber are likely to join the party on Monday. The party’s State president L Murugan has been camping in New Delhi since Saturday.
For a month now, speculation has been rife that Khushbu might join the BJP. Some of her tweets in recent months were seen as a signal to the saffron party that her attitude towards the party had changed. Notably, she diverged from her party’s stance by welcoming the National Educational Policy, even tweeting an apology to party leader Rahul Gandhi for her differing views. But on October 6, participating in a Congress event, she stoutly denied the rumours. Even a few days ago, she strongly hit out at the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on certain issues.
On Sunday evening, ahead of boarding a flight to Delhi, Khushbu declined to answer the questions from reporters. Asked whether she was joining the BJP, she said, “No comments.” Questioned whether she was still a member of the Congress, she declined to answer.
Khushbu joined the Congress in 2014, having earlier been a member of the DMK from 2010.
Born in a Muslim family in Mumbai, Khushbu was one of the most popular Tamil film stars in the 1990s. At the peak of her career, fans even dedicated a temple to her. She moved on to act in television serials and is also a popular television presenter.