Editor's Pick: Metroman Sreedharan announces political entry

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter that provides a snapshot of the most important stories in today's edition of The Hindu, along with a note on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

E. Sreedharan, Principal Adviser to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, has decided to join the BJP in Kerala. Popularly known as 'metroman', the 88-year-old Mr. Sreedharan was the moving force behind many of India's ambitious railway and metro projects. Mr. Sreedharan has said that he is willing to contest in the coming Assembly polls in the State.

Mr. Sreedharan rose to fame with the speedy reconstruction of the Pamban railway bridge in Tamil Nadu after it was washed away in a storm in 1964. He is also behind the pathbreaking Kolkata Metro, the ambitious Konkan railway project and the turnaround of the Cochin Shipyard. He earned his sobriquet after the timely and within-budget completion of the Delhi Metro, which transformed transportation in the national capital. He is known for a style of functioning that seems to rise above political pressures and focuses on achieving targets. This has won him accolades and popularity among many sections.

Mr. Sreedharan has previously made his appreciation of Prime Minister Modi known and his political affiliation is not entirely surprising. However, his willingness to enter electoral politics is noteworthy. The BJP in Kerala currently holds one seat in the Assembly, and on his recent visit to Kerala Mr. Modi had asked the State unit to step up its game. Palakkad district, from where Mr. Sreedharan hails, has several constituencies in which the BJP has performed well in the past; and the right name on the ticket could give it the winning edge. However, it remains to be seen whether the BJP will put Mr. Sreedharan in the poll fray or will use him more as a mascot for its development agenda. The possibilities thrown up by the metroman's announcement are what make this story important.

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