New Delhi, 31 March (H.S.):
On the eve of the West Bengal Assembly elections, former tennis star Leander Paes formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday at the party’s national headquarters in New Delhi. Present at the event were Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar, and BJP MP Anil Baluni, as Paes was inducted into the saffron party through a formal membership ceremony. His entry into the BJP is being seen as a major political coup against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the poll‑bound state.
Addressing the gathering, Kiren Rijiju described Paes’s induction as a “historic moment” and said the international tennis champion would now serve the nation from the BJP platform. He highlighted that Paes is a household name across India and noted that the tennis legend was inspired by the support and infrastructure for sports and athletes created under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership over the past 12 years.
Rijiju added that Paes’s joining the BJP is not only significant for the sports world, but also a notable moment in Indian politics, underscoring the party’s growing appeal among high‑profile public figures.
Sukanta Majumdar, West Bengal BJP president and Union Minister, expressed his delight at the addition of a tennis icon to the party’s ranks. He called Paes’s entry one of the “biggest days” for the state unit, saying that the former doubles and mixed‑doubles Grand Slam champion would be a source of inspiration for Bengal’s youth and a strong campaign asset in the upcoming elections.
Majumdar also pointed out that
Paes is a direct descendant of the legendary 19th‑century Bengali poet and dramatist Michael Madhusudan Dutt, further strengthening his connect with the state’s cultural identity.
Poll‑bound West Bengal is scheduled to go to the hustings in the coming weeks, and Paes’s shift from the Trinamool Congress, which he had joined in 2021, to the BJP is being interpreted as a clear signal of the rising momentum of the BJP in Bengal. Party leaders said he is expected to play a prominent role as a star campaigner, helping the saffron party consolidate its image among youth and sports‑oriented voters while challenging TMC’s dominance in the state.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
