INDIAN TENNIS GREAT Leander Paes has formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marking a significant crossover from sport to politics ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Paes joined the party in the presence of senior leaders including Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, with the move being seen as a strategic effort by the BJP to strengthen its outreach in West Bengal by leveraging the credibility and mass appeal of a national sporting icon.
The 52-year-old’s entry into active politics comes after a distinguished sporting career and a previous stint in public life, having earlier joined the Trinamool Congress in 2021 during the Goa elections.
Leander Paes is widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles players in tennis history and India’s most decorated tennis athlete.
His career highlights include 18 Grand Slam titles (8 men’s doubles, 10 mixed doubles); World No. 1 in doubles (1999); career Grand Slam in both men’s doubles and mixed doubles; 55 ATP doubles titles across a long career. He also formed one of India’s most iconic sporting partnerships with Mahesh Bhupathi, with the duo reaching all four Grand Slam finals in 1999 and winning the French Open and Wimbledon that year.
Paes’ most celebrated achievement remains his bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which made him the first Indian in 44 years to win an individual Olympic medal, and the only Indian to win an Olympic medal in tennis.
Paes’ contributions to Indian sport have been widely recognised with a Padma Bhushan (2014), Padma Shri (2001), and Khel Ratna (1996–97). In 2024, he became the first Asian man inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, cementing his global legacy.
Paes retired from professional tennis in 2020 after a career spanning nearly three decades, during which he remained a central figure in Indian tennis and a global ambassador for the sport.
