Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja has joined BJP, confirmed wife and party MLA from Gujarat Rivaba Jadeja through a social media post on X.

In a post on X, Rivaba shared photos of Ravindra Jadeja’s card as a BJP member, along with her own. The post mentioned the BJP’s membership drive, which began on September 2.

Rivaba Jadeja became a member of the BJP in 2019 and ran for the Gujarat Assembly elections from the Jamnagar North constituency in 2022, with support from her cricketer husband, Ravindra Jadeja.

She emerged victorious with a substantial lead of over 50,000 votes. Despite her husband’s family supporting the Congress party during the campaign, Rivaba Jadeja emphasized that there were no ideological conflicts between her and her husband, stating that their thoughts, ideology, and actions were aligned.

The BJP’s membership drive was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2, followed by national president Jagat Prasad Nadda, and other senior leaders such as UP state president Bhupendra Singh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak re-joining the party.

Furthermore, party veterans Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi also renewed their membership on Thursday.

Yesterday, deputy chief minister Pathak said, “As of the evening of September 3, over 27,000 individuals had signed up for BJP membership online.”

He further said that this reflected the strong public trust in the party, surpassing that of any other political organisation in India. The BJP aims to be a ubiquitous, all-encompassing, and inclusive organisation, working to connect with every individual through its membership campaign, he asserted.

The membership drive is scheduled to unfold in three phases, running from September 2 to 25, October 1 to 15, and an active membership drive from October 16 to 31. Each party booth has been tasked with enrolling 200 new members, with a specific focus on engaging with diverse societal groups during the campaign.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asserted that access to proper toilets plays a crucial role in reducing infant and child mortality, as he shared a research that highlighted the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister said improved sanitation has become a game-changer for public health in India.

“Happy to see research highlighting the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission. Access to proper toilets plays a crucial role in reducing infant and child mortality,” PM Modi said on X.

“Clean, safe sanitation has become a game-changer for public health. And, I am glad India has taken the lead in this,” he added.

He shared a link to a research paper on “Toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission and infant mortality in India”, published in the British weekly scientific journal ‘Nature’.

The report said toilet construction increased dramatically across India following the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014. The post-SBM period in India exhibited accelerated reductions in infant and child mortality compared to the pre-SBM years, it said.

The Swachh Bharat Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the central government on October 2, 2014, to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management.

The report also said that based on regression estimates, the provision of toilets at scale may have contributed to averting approximately 60,000 to 70,000 infant deaths annually.

It added that the implementation of transformative sanitation programmes can deliver population health benefits in low and middle-income countries. 

According to a research report cited by PM Modi, the districts with over 30% SBM coverage experienced a reduction of 5.3 fewer infant deaths and 6.7 fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births. This underscores the critical link between improved sanitation and enhanced child health outcomes.

The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence that national sanitation campaigns can lead to substantial public health benefits. They emphasise the necessity for similar interventions in other low and middle-income countries, where sanitation remains a pressing issue.

In the first list released of 67 candidates for the Haryana Assembly elections, the BJP has denied tickets to nine of its sitting MLAs and two Ministers, while fielding Jail officer Sunil Sangwan, who granted Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Ram Rahim parole six times.

Jail officer Sangwan has been fielded from Charkhi Dadri seat the former BJP leader Somveer Sangwan won as an independent in 2019. Somveer may join Congress if the party gives him a ticket for the seat.

After being displeased with the BJP’s decision to select wrestler Babita Phogat over him for the seat, former BJP leader Somveer ran as an Independent candidate in 2019.

Releasing its first list on Wednesday, the BJP declared names for 67 out of the state’s 90 constituencies. The list included the names of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who will be contesting from the Ladwa constituency, and former Minister Anil Vij from the Ambala Cantonment constituency.

In an attempt to address concerns about anti-incumbency after a decade in power, the saffron party has made significant changes for the upcoming elections. This includes dropping nine sitting MLAs, including Sudhir Singhla from Gurugram.

The party did not name two Cabinet Ministers, Ranjit Chautala and Sitaram Yadav. Additionally, it gave tickets to eight sitting ministers, while the list named 25 new faces. There are also 8 female candidates on the list.

Among the dropped MLAs are Deepak Mangla from Palwal and Narendra Gupta from Faridabad. Two MLAs, Laxman Napa, and Haryana BJP Kisan Morcha State President Sukhwinder Mandi, have resigned from their posts in anger over the situation. Napa has been replaced by former MP Sunita Duggal for the state polls.

Shruti Choudhry, who left the Congress and joined the BJP along with her mother Rajya Sabha MP Kiran Choudhry in June, has been nominated as a candidate from Tosham.

Additionally, three former legislators from the Jannayak Janata Party, which was previously allied with the BJP, have also been selected. These candidates are Devender Singh Babli from Tohana, Ram Kumar Gautam from Safidon, and Anoop Dhanak from Uklana.

Other notable candidates include Deepak Hooda, the former captain of the Indian Kabaddi team, who will be contesting from Meham, and Union Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, who will be running from Badli.

The list of candidates includes eight women, 13 leaders from the Scheduled Castes, and nine from other backward communities (OBCs).