Five years after Leander Paes joined the TMC in the run-up to the Goa polls, the Indian tennis legend on Tuesday joined the BJP as West Bengal gears up for the Assembly elections.
After joining the BJP in the presence of Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Sukanta Majumdar in New Delhi, Paes, 52, hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and said West Bengal “deserves better”.
In a sharp reaction, the TMC called him a bohiragoto, an outsider.
“Congratulations! You’ve finally found your next Goa Chief Minister candidate. Yet another BOHIRAGOTO (outsider) parachuted into our state by the BJP,” the TMC posted on X soon after Paes joined the BJP.
At the press conference in New Delhi, the BJP emphasised on Paes’ Bengal roots and called him ‘Kolkatar chele”, a boy of Kolkata.
“Paes joining the BJP will be very fruitful for Bengal. He was born and brought up in the lanes of Kolkata. He is a youth icon and will be an inspiration for them,” BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar told The Indian Express.
“He is proudly a ‘Kolkatar chele’ (a boy from Kolkata) whose early life in Bengal shaped his immense passion, unyielding discipline and longevity as an international athlete,” a senior BJP leader said.
In a statement, Paes said, “I was born in Bengal and come from a family of Olympians who have worn the Tiranga (Tricolor) across our chests with immense pride. This has shaped my legacy and instilled in me the values of discipline, dedication, and a deep sense of patriotism, with the objective of helping position India as a global sporting and economic superpower,” Paes said.
“I am also proud to be a descendant of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, a true nationalist who made immense contributions to Bengali and Indian literature,” he added.
Hailing Modi’s “visionary leadership”, Paes said that India has witnessed a “transformative journey” over the past decade.
The country has made remarkable strides across sectors, with a strong emphasis on empowering youth and women, which has been especially inspiring, he said.
Paes said that he has closely observed the aspirations and challenges of people across different parts of India, including the states such as West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Assam.
“Having played professional sport globally, I feel Bengal deserves better,” he said.
“I believe there is immense potential everywhere. At the same time, many young people still face challenges in accessing opportunities and platforms to excel. Addressing these gaps will be key to unlocking India’s full potential,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BJP said that it has not yet been decided if Paes would be contesting the Assembly elections or if he will be taking part in the upcoming campaigns. “As of now, the party has not decided his role,” said Majumdar.
Paes had not contested the 2022 Assembly elections in Goa after he joined the TMC in October 2021. He had campaigned for the TMC though. Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had described Paes as her “younger brother”. He was left out of the party’s 69-member Goa state committee in January 2022.
Last week, the tennis star had met BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who was on a two-day visit to Kolkata, in the presence of MP and BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya, setting off speculation about him joining the party.
Born as Leander Adrian Paes on 17 June 1973 in Calcutta in a Christian family, he studied at La Martiniere Calcutta, Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School and at St. Xavier’s College. His father, Vece Paes, was a field hockey player of Goan Catholic descent, and mother, Jennifer Paes, was a Bengali basketball player from Kolkata.
Paes has won eight men’s doubles and 10 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He holds a career Grand Slam in men’s doubles and mixed doubles which makes him one of only three men in the Open Era to achieve this distinction. He has won the rare men’s/mixed double at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships.
Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were the first pair in Open Era history to reach the men’s doubles finals of all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year (1999).
He has also won a bronze medal for India in men’s singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games making him the first Asian in Olympic history and the only Indian to date to win it.