New Delhi: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria into its fold, on Sunday. 

Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria joined the saffron party in the presence of party General Secretary Vinod Tawde and Union Minister Anurag Thakur. 

Born on June 15 1980, Bhadauria retired from his service on September 30 2021. He has an experience of 4,250 flying hours. Bhadauria was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF in June 1980. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), he had held various command, staff and instructional positions such as Squadron leader, Wing Commander and Group Captain etc.

He had won the coveted 'Sword of Honour' for standing first in the overall order of merit. During his nearly four-decade career, Bhadauria commanded a Jaguar squadron and a premier Air Force Station.