Tennis icon Leander Paes on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at its headquarters in New Delhi, marking a significant political move ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.
Paes was inducted in the party in the presence of Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Sukanta Majumdar.
The development comes days after Paes met senior BJP leaders in Kolkata, including party in-charge Nitin Nabin and state president Samik Bhattacharya, fuelling speculation about his entry into the party.
Political Shift After Earlier TMC Association
Paes’s decision signals a notable shift in his political alignment, given his earlier association with the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).
In October 2021, he had joined the TMC in Goa, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee publicly welcomed him, referring to him as a “younger brother”. However, his political trajectory within the party appeared uncertain soon after.
He was not included in the TMC’s 69-member Goa state committee announced in January 2022, prompting questions at the time about his role and future within the organisation.
Entry Ahead of Crucial Bengal Elections
Paes’s induction into the BJP comes at a politically sensitive moment, with West Bengal set to vote in a two-phase Assembly election on April 23 and April 29. The results are scheduled to be declared on May 4.
His entry is likely to add a fresh dimension to the BJP’s campaign narrative as the party intensifies efforts to expand its footprint in the state.
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