Lucknow, Jan 23 (IANS): India's tallest man, Dharmendra Pratap Singh, has joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh.

"Dharmendra Pratap Singh of Pratapgarh acquired the membership of the SP while expressing trust in the policies of the SP and the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav," a party statement said.

Dharmendra Pratap Singh, 46, stands tall at 8 feet and 2 inches and his name is the Guinness World Records and is also seen as one of the tallest men in Asia.

A resident of Narharpur Kasiyahi village in Pratapgarh district, he holds a Master's degree but has been struggling to find a job for himself.

Dharmendra struggles in finding employment and also has a problem in bending due to his height. He has no job and he has never been married.

"People do not take me seriously when I ask for a job. They feel I can make money with my height. It is for similar reasons that I have not been able to get married," he said.

Dharmendra said that he experiences pain in the hip just below the waist due to his height and faces difficulties in completing day-to-day tasks.

He had consulted a doctor in Lucknow who suggested an operation.

Since he did not have the money and with no employment, Dharmendra had turned to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for help and later, underwent bilateral hip replacement surgery in 2019.