Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Former Air Force chief RKS Bhadauria joins BJP

Ahead of crucial Lok Sabha elections, former Air Force chief RKS Bhadauria on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of party General Secretary Vinod Tawde and Union Minister Anurag Thakur at the party headquarters in New Delhi.

Bhadauria was among the first Indian Air Force officers to fly the Rafale fighter jet and was also instrumental in finalising the deal with France for jets.

Bhadauria served as Air Force chief from September 2019 to September 2021. Before taking over as Army chief, he served as vice chief of air staff. 

Bhadauria, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune. He has clocked over 4250 hours of flying and has experience of 26 different types of fighters.

Bhadauria served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Southern Air Command from March 2017 to August 2018. He also served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command from August 2018 and held the office till his elevation to the Vice Chief of the Air Staff in May 2019.

During 36 years of his career, RKS Bhadauria has been awarded several medals: the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, the Vayu Sena Medal and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. He was appointed honorary Aide De Campe to the President of India in January 2019.