Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 28(DC): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, who was on a one-day visit to Kerala, welcomed former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair into the party on Saturday in Thiruvananthapuram, reported news agency ANI.

Along with Nair, four others also joined the BJP including the former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President and KPCC executive committee member G Raman Nair, reports stated.

Former woman commissioner Pramila Devi, JD (S) district vice president of Karnakulam, Divakaran Nair and Thomas John from the Malankara Church, also joined the BJP at a conference on Saturday evening, according to Hindustan Times.

All the new members were felicitated with a traditional shawl by party president Amit Shah.

Shah's visit to Kerala was seen as the party's move to gain a foothold in the state. The BJP chief backed those opposing the Sabarimala verdict and warned the Pinarayi government that it was 'playing with fire' in an effort to clamp down on protestors.

Hitting back at Shah, Vijayan reminded him that the state government was not at the mercy of the BJP. "But this is a government elected by the people. Shah's speech gives the message that the electoral verdict will be sabotaged," Vijayan claimed in a statement.