Narendra Dhoni after joining the BJP on Sunday. (Hardeep Singh)

Ranchi, April 19: Narendra Singh Dhoni, elder brother of Indian captain M.S. Dhoni, joined the BJP today.

Narendra, who runs a private security agency, told reporters he was inspired by his namesake who is at the helm of Gujarat politics. “I would have joined the BJP the day Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi came to town to campaign for Ramtahal Choudhary, the party’s nominee in Ranchi. Unfortunately, I fell sick and was confined to the bed. Today, I took the plunge,” he said.

Modi was in Ranchi on April 13.

Pledging to serve the interest of the BJP and Jharkhand, 38-year-old Narendra said L.K. Advani was his idol and that he would fully devote himself to follow his ideals.

Narendra’s first love is football — he had played in the DAV national football meet and also in the Subroto Cup. Of course, he takes an interest in cricket, too.

Had he spoken to his brother about joining politics? “I have discussed my plans with my family. Mahi knew it,” Narendra responded.

Although M.S. Dhoni is known to be close to the All Jharkhand Students’ Union chief and former state home minister Sudesh Mahto, his brother claimed that he, too, had been a BJP supporter since 1991.

Asked if the captain would follow him into politics, the elder brother said: “He is preoccupied with cricket.”

Narendra went to the same school as his famous sibling, the Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, and then to Ranchi College but graduated from Indira Gandhi National Open University.

On why he decided to join the BJP, Narendra reiterated that he was “quite impressed” by Modi’s performance in the western state and wanted to replicate his development model in Jharkhand.

“With Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani among its leaders, I find the BJP the perfect platform from where I can work for the people.”

Narendra said he had not thought of contesting the Assembly elections. “I have just joined the BJP and my priority is to serve the party in whatever way I can. At present, I will only campaign for Choudhary,” he added.

In the evening, he addressed a public meeting at Dhurwa, considered the stronghold of Congress nominee from Ranchi Subodh Kant Sahay.