Kumar Sanu sings his way into BJP

Singer Kumar Sanu on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"I was attracted to the party because of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the performance of his government during the last five years," said Sanu, who was introduced to journalists by BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi.

Sanu, whose real name is Kedar Bhattacharya and who has sung a record number of songs in about 19 languages, said the country has made "great progress" under Vajpayee.

Asked about his political career, the Kolkata-born singer said he had no immediate plans but would continue to support the BJP and work to strengthen it.

He is the second singer to join the party; Bhupen Hazarika has already been given a ticket to contest the election.