Tennis legend Leander Paes joins BJP before Bengal elections, leaves Mamata’s side and joins PM Modi’s hand

By Samira Vishwas On Mar 31, 2026

New Delhi: Just before the West Bengal Assembly elections, Indian tennis legend Leander Paes has joined BJP on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Party officials confirmed this. Paes took membership of the party in New Delhi. Many senior leaders including Union Minister Kiren Rijiju were present on this occasion.

Paes’s political journey

Leander Paes is one of India’s most successful tennis players. He represented the country in the Davis Cup and also won a medal in the Olympics. In 2021, he had joined Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), but now he has chosen to support BJP. This change has become a topic of discussion in the politics of West Bengal.

#WATCH | Delhi: Former ace Tennis star Leander Paes joins the BJP, in the presence of Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Sukanta Majumdar. pic.twitter.com/qIDW1OovWz
— ANI (@ANI) March 31, 2026

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation

On the same day, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the Kerala Assembly elections. Addressing an election rally in Kannur, he said that Modi wants the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) to win.

Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is fighting the combined forces of the Left Front and BJP in this election. He said, “This election is a fight between two ideologies. And that ideology is the CPI(M) led Left Front and the UDF. For the first time, an alliance is being seen between the BJP and the Left Front,” he said.

The rally included two former CPI(M) leaders V. Kunhikrishnan and T.K., contesting as independent candidates with the support of the UDF. Govindan was also present on the stage.

BJP manifesto in Assam

On the same day, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the BJP’s manifesto for the Assam Assembly elections. About 31 promises have been made in the ‘Sankalp Patra’. These include taking back the encroached land from Bangladeshi infiltrators, implementing the Uniform Civil Code, protecting the land, heritage and honor of the indigenous people and infrastructure investment worth Rs 5 lakh crore in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that everyone is working hard for the BJP-NDA hat-trick in Assam. At the same time, the joining of a popular sports personality like Leander Paes in BJP can give new energy to the party in West Bengal.