A little over two months after he retired as the Uttar Pradesh director general of police, Indian Police Service officer Vijay Kumar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday, reported PTI.

The former state police chief’s wife, Anupama Kumar, also joined the saffron party at an event in Lucknow, where members of the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party who have recently defected to the BJP were also formally inducted.

Vijay Kumar served as the Uttar Pradesh director general of police from May 31, 2023, to January 31, 2024. He is the second director general of police in the state to have joined the BJP in the last decade, according to The Indian Express. Former state police chief Brij Lal joined the party in 2015 and became a Rajya Sabha MP in 2020.

After his induction, Kumar told The Indian Express that he had been intending to enter politics for some time but pending commitments had not allowed him to do so.

“My wife, who is a homemaker, and I come from non-political backgrounds,” he said. “We are prepared to undertake any responsibilities assigned to us by the party leadership.”

When asked if he is contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the former director general of police reiterated that he would follow the party leadership’s directions.

He also claimed that the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh has improved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath.

Kumar added that his decision to join the BJP stemmed from a desire to “contribute to further improvement and service to the nation”.

Kumar had drawn attention during his tenure as the director general of police when he asked officers to follow the panchang, or the Hindu almanac, for better policing, reported PTI.

He had also said that an awareness of the phases of the moon would be beneficial for the public and the police. “Sometimes the night is partially dark and sometimes it is totally dark,” Kumar said. “The public should know so that they can be alert and the police should also know so that they can be more alert at that time.”