Ravindra Jadeja joins BJP following retirement from T20 Internationals
New Delhi: Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, who recently retired from T20 internationals after India's T20 World Cup victory, has now entered the political arena by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The announcement was made by his wife, Rivaba Jadeja, who is currently a BJP MLA from Gujarat.
Rivaba Jadeja took to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday to share the news. In her post, she included photos of both her and Ravindra Jadeja’s BJP membership cards. The post was linked to the BJP’s ongoing membership drive, known as 'Sadasyata Abhiyan', which began on September 2. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also renewed his membership on the first day of the drive.
Rivaba, who joined the BJP in 2019, successfully contested the Gujarat Assembly elections from the Jamnagar North constituency in 2022. Ravindra Jadeja actively campaigned for his wife during the elections, helping her secure a victory with a margin of over 50,000 votes.
At the time of the election, there was a split in political loyalties within Jadeja's family, as his father and sister campaigned for the Congress party. However, Rivaba Jadeja had dismissed any concerns over ideological differences between her and her cricketer husband, stating, "He and I are not two people, we are one. Our thinking is aligned, and we share the same ideology. There is no confusion in our family when it comes to our political beliefs."
Veteran BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi also renewed their memberships on Thursday as part of the ongoing campaign.
🪷 #SadasyataAbhiyaan2024 pic.twitter.com/he0QhsimNK
— Rivaba Ravindrasinh Jadeja (@Rivaba4BJP) September 2, 2024
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
