Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, popularly known as the “Metro Man” for playing a crucial role in the introduction of metro rails in various cities in the country, is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sreedharan was also instrumental in studying the metro rail in Hyderabad but had strongly opposed the public-private-partnership model introduced by late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, saying that it would lead to corruption. However, he later appreciated the model, saying it worked excellently in Hyderabad.
Sreedharan was also taken on board of the Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation in Andhra Pradesh by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, but he quietly exited from the project when Naidu sought to make several changes in the model. Of course, the project itself was shelved after Jagan came to power.
The 89-year-old technocrat was credited for changing the face of public transport in India in building Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, when he served as its managing director between 1995 and 2012.
He told reporters that he had been living in Kerala for 10 years but noticed that the LDF and UDF were only interested in their political growth, not in the state's growth.
“In this scenario, it is only the BJP that can do something for the state," he said.
He added that Narendra Modi is the most promising Prime Minister and he has worked with him closely, which inspired him to join the party.
"He is one of the best Prime Ministers India has seen, I have worked with him closely," he said.