Metro Man E Sreedharan quits politics 10 months after joining BJP, says will continue to serve country

'Metro Man' Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, at a press conference on Thursday in Malappuram, Kerala, announced that he would no longer be involved in active politics. "I was never a politician”, he said adding that he would continue to serve the country in other ways".

He, however, clarified that he would not stay completely away from politics.

Sreedharan, dubbed 'Metro Man' by the media for his grand success in executing the completion of the Delhi Metro, had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections, held in April.

He contested from Palakkad in Kerala in the Assembly elections. He was even projected as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate. But the party was routed in the election.

The 90-year-old engineer said that he had joined politics at an advanced age and that he was no longer interested in it. He added that his defeat in the Kerala election had disappointed him, according to Deccan Herald.

India Today quoted him: "When I lost I was disappointed. But it doesn't matter. That time frame has passed now. I would have been an MLA if elected. I could have done nothing much by being an MLA alone," he said. “I am 90 now. Pushing further into politics is dangerous. I don't have any dream in politics now. I don't need politics to serve my land. I already do that through three trusts.”

Sreedharan had put up an impressive fight at Palakkad; the Congress' sitting MLA Shafi Parambil's lead dropped to around 3,850 in 2021 from 17,400 in 2016. Sreedharan had maintained a lead until the final hours of counting, Deccan Herald reports.

According to Hindustan Times, Sreedharan, an engineer, has worn many hats including that of a lecturer. He was the person behind the country’s first metro service, Kolkata Metro. He has worked on the restoration of the picturesque Pamban Bridge, India’s first sea bridge, that connects Rameswaram to mainland Tamil Nadu.

He was involved in the Konkan Railway project and, towards the tail end of his career, he was in charge of the Delhi Metro project and retired as its chief in 2011. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

With input from agencies

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