Former IPS officer and anti-coruption activist Kiran Bedi is likely to join the BJP on Thursday, after a year of speculation that the Delhi BJP will field her as its chief ministerial candidate.

Former IPS officer and anti-corruption activist Kiran Bedi is likely to join the BJP on Thursday, after a year of speculation that the Delhi BJP would field her as its chief ministerial candidate.

According to CNN-IBN, Bedi is likely to meet BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday and a formal announcement can be expected after a Delhi BJP election committee meeting at 6 pm this evening.

Ahead of the 2013 Assembly elections, speculation was rife that Bedi would join the party and be its face for the Assembly polls but the party chose to go with its senior Delhi leader and now Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan instead.

In May 2014, Bedi had said she was ready to be the CM candidate if such an offer was made to her. "I will consider myself to be ready for it if such an offer is made," Bedi had said when asked if she would be the candidate if fresh elections were announced.

But her bid to be CM was shot down by several BJP leaders who felt she was an 'outsider'.

Dr Vardhan, who was the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate last year, told Firstpost, “See as far as my latest knowledge of state of affairs in my party goes this issue, (Kiran Bedi) is a non issue”. Few other senior leaders had similar response: a clear 'No' to Bedi's chief ministerial ambition.

Bedi's soft-spot for the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no secret given her repeated statements urging voters to bring in change before the Lok Sabha polls, and as early as 10 January this year.

"Delhi must emphatically now opt for alignment with Centre of Power + Neighbourhood for Stability, Development + Resources: Not for confrontation," Bedi tweeted.

In May, after Modi stormed to power, Bedi had tweeted: "I no more rule out entering Indian political service on capability basis. I am moving towards some flexibility in this."

Along with Bedi, who was earlier associated with social activist Anna Hazare, ex-AAP leader Shazia Ilmi as well as former Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada are also expected to join the party today.

Delhi must emphatically now opt for alignment with Centre of Power+ Neighbourhood for Stability,Development+ Resources:Not for confrontation — Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) January 10, 2015

https://twitter.com/thekiranbedi/status/468959352880381952