Tamil actor Sarath Kumar has announced that his political party, the All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK), will be merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a statement on March 12, Tuesday, Sarath Kumar said the merger with BJP was for a nationalistic cause.

Earlier in the day, he told mediapersons that the BJP would perform extremely well in the upcoming general elections. A popular actor in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada movies, Sarath Kumar is a former Rajya Sabha member who also served as a legislator from the Tenkasi Assembly seat. He has aligned with the DMK and the AIADMK in the past. According to reports, Sharath Kumar is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Tirunelveli.

On March 6, Sarath Kumar announced that AISMK had joined the NDA alliance. He said that he decided to join the alliance for “Narendra Modi to make his third term as the Prime Minister to develop the country and for better governance.” 

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai had also took to social media in welcoming the actor-turned politician. He said, “Having full faith in the activities of the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, for ten years of corruption-free and honest government, and inspired by the projects carried out by our Prime Minister for the sake of national welfare and unity, I am pleased to welcome the founder of the All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi Party, Annan Sarath Kumar, on behalf of BJP Tamil Nadu.”

(With inputs from IANS)