Subramanian Swamy

New Delhi, Aug. 11: Sonia Gandhi-baiter Subramanian Swamy joined the BJP today. He also merged his Janata Party with the BJP.

The decision, in the offing ever since Swamy joined the NDA in 2012, was formalised this evening in a meeting at BJP president Rajnath Singh’s residence.

Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Arun Jaitley and Rajnath’s predecessor Nitin Gadkari were also present at the meeting.

The RSS, captivated by Swamy’s academic qualifications and work, was keen that he should join the BJP but a section of the party was reluctant, fearing that Swamy’s shoot-from-the-hip style of politics might embarrass it.

However, there were others who felt it was time the BJP took on the Congress, particularly the Gandhis, more sure-footedly before the 2014 elections. So far, the party has been coy about raising the issue of the dubious land deals allegedly transacted by Sonia’s son-in-law Robert Vadra.

Swamy’s entry is expected to sharpen the edge of the BJP’s offensive against the Congress, said a source.

A former economics professor at Harvard University, Swamy, 74, was a member of Parliament five times between 1979 and 1999. He was law and commerce minister in the short-lived Chandra Shekhar government.

Although a votary of Hindutva, this is the first time Swamy has officially joined the BJP.