On March 31, in New Delhi, the decision of tennis legend Leander Paes to switch to the BJP after a five-year association with the Trinamool Congress once again brought sportsspersons in politics into the spotlight.
While some rose to become cabinet ministers, others achieved mixed results electorally and are still finding their way.
#Mohammad Azharuddin
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The former Indian cricket captain joined Congress in 2009 and became a Lok Sabha member from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, in the same year. However, he lost the subsequent Lok Sabha and assembly elections in 2014 and 2023. After a brief stint as the chief of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, Azhar was appointed as a cabinet minister in Telangana under Revanth Reddy, holding the portfolio of Minister for Public Enterprises & Minority Welfare.
#Navjot Singh Sidhu
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The former India opener worked for multiple parties, including BJP, Congress, and his own Aawaz-e-Punjab. He won the 2004 and 2009 general elections on a BJP ticket. However, in 2017, he joined Congress and won the assembly election from Amritsar East.
In the 2022 state polls, he lost to his AAP rival from the same constituency. Currently, he is on a political sabbatical.
#Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi
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The former Indian cricket team skipper entered the electoral world in 1971 under the Vishal Haryana Party but lost in the Gurgaon constituency. The "Tiger" returned to the political field later on a Congress ticket in 1991, but could not win from Bhopal. He passed away in 2011.
#Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
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The ace shooter, who fetched India's first-ever silver in shooting at the Olympics, joined BJP in 2013 and was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2014 general elections from Jaipur. He also won in the 2019 polls. In 2023, he shifted to state politics and won the election that year, subsequently resigning from the Lok Sabha.
#Karni Singh
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The last Maharaja of Bikaner was India's first medallist in World Shooting Championships in 1962 at Cairo, bagging a silver. Later, he served as an independent Member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha for 25 years, representing the Bikaner constituency from 1952 to 1977. He died in 1988.
#Saina Nehwal
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The former World No. 1 and London Olympics bronze-winning badminton ace joined the BJP in 2020 along with her sister, but has not yet attempted to enter politics.
#Gautam Gambhir
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The two-time World Cup winner and the current coach of India's cricket team entered politics through BJP in 2019. In the same year, he won the general election from East Delhi. However, in 2024, he moved away from active politics to revive his sporting career as a cricket coach.
#Kirti Azad
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The 1983 World Cup-winner first entered politics through BJP and won an assembly and Lok Sabha election from Darbhanga, Bihar.
However, in 2015, Azad was suspended by BJP for his tiff with senior leader Arun Jaitely and he moved to Congress later in 2019. In 2021, he moved to Trinamool Congress, and returned to the lower house through a victory from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency in West Bengal.
#Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia
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The accomplished and equally controversial wrestlers joined the Congress party together in 2024 after aggressively agitating against the then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP leader who was accused of sexual harassment.
Phogat went on to become an MLA in Haryana after winning the Julana constituency, while Punia was appointed the head of All India Kisan Congress by the party.
#Vijender Singh
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The Beijing Olympics bronze-winning boxer came to politics through Congress in 2019 but lost the election that year from the South Delhi constituency. Later in 2024, he shifted to BJP.
#Bhaichung Bhutia
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The former Indian football captain joined Trinamool Congress in 2014 but lost the general elections from Darjeeling. However, during the 2021 Bengal assembly elections he supported the Left front. Later, he formed his own party Hamaro Sikkim but could not make any impact in polls.
#Biren Singh
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A decorated footballer for BSF and Manipur, Biren Singh’s political entry came through Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party, winning the state poll. Later he joined Congress and retained the seat in 2007 and 2012. But in 2016, he joined BJP and won the election in 2017 to become Manipur’s Chief Minister. He repeated the feat in 2022 but his reign came to an end in 2025 after ethnic violence lashed the state.
#Harbhajan Singh
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The former India spinner, who has two World Cups and over 400 Test wickets in his kitty, joined politics with Aam Aadmi Party in 2022. Later, he was nominated to Rajya Sabha by AAP.
#Chetan Chauhan
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The former Indian opener, who made a name for himself with his doughtiness, joined BJP after his playing career. He was an MP from Amroha in 1991 and 1998.
However, he lost elections from there in 1996, 1999 and 2004. He made a return to politics in 2017 and won the UP state polls from Naugawan Sadat. Chauhan passed away in 2020.
#Yogeshwar Dutt
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Dutt, a bronze winner in the London Olympics, joined BJP in 2019 and remains an active worker.
#Dilip Tirkey
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The former Indian hockey captain joined Biju Janata Dal in 2012 and got a nomination to Rajya Sabha. But he could not win polls to the lower house in 2024 from the Sundergarh constituency.
#Kalyan Chaubey
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The former Indian footballer, and the current All India Football Federation president, entered politics in 2015 through BJP. In the 2019 general elections, he lost to Mahua Moitra of Trinamool Congress. He also lost the Bengal state polls in 2021 and 2024.
#Jyotirmoyee Sikdar
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The ace athlete, who won gold medals in the 1998 Asian Games, was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha from CPM. But she lost in the 2009 general elections. In 2019 she announced her support for Trinamool Congress but later joined BJP.