Saina Nehwal will join the ruling BJP today

Badminton champion Saina Nehwal will join the ruling BJP shortly, sources confirmed on Wednesday.

Haryana-born Saina Nehwal, 29, is a major acquisition for the party as she is one of the most popular sportspersons in India with a huge fan following. A former world number 1, she has been honoured with the country's top sporting awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award.

The badminton player has won over 24 international titles. In the London Olympics, she won a bronze. She was world number two in 2009 and number one in 2015.

With her tweets praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saina Nehwal has widely been seen to lean towards the BJP.

One of her tweets became controversial when it was found to be identical to several others in praise of a speech by PM Modi last year. Saina was trolled on Twitter with screenshots of the identical tweets. She was also among the sportswomen who put up identical tweets on Diwali thanking PM Modi for his initiative to empower women, with the hashtag #bharatkilaxmi.