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The start of the new year in India brought key state elections across the country. Starting from February, elections in Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh have ruled the minds have all Indian citizens. Hence today, the country is in full election frenzy as the results in some major states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa are being announced.
Politics and cricket have also been together in India. According to eminent historian Ram Guha, Palwankar Baloo, a Dalit leader was the first-ever cricketer to join politics. He competed in the 1933-34 Bombay Municipality election but lost to doctor Homi F Pavri.
Therefore in the spirit of the elections, let us look at this of Indian cricketers who have transitioned into politics after retiring from their cricketing careers.
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
Regarded as India’s greatest captain, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi AKA Tiger Pataudi took part in the 1991 elections as he fought on Congress Party ticket in Bhopal. But unlike his cricketing triumphs, politics wasn’t his strongest suit as he lost BJP's Sushil Chandra Verma who had 53.61% votes.
Kirti Azad
Part of the historic 1983 World Cup-winning team, Kirti Azad was a ferocious right-handed batter and darting off-spinner. But after cricket, he made some name as a politician. Azad contested in elections for the BJP party and won at Bihar's Darbhanga constituency thrice. He also comes from a political family as his father was former Chief Minister of Bihar Bhagwat Jha Azad.
Navjot Singh Sidhu
The former Indian swashbuckling opener, Navjot Singh Sidhu has now been an integral part of the politics in Punjab. He started his political career with BJP in 2004 and also won the elections in 2009. Sidhu, in 2016, became a Rajya Sabha member but resigned in three months. Next year, he changed alliances and joined the Congress party where he went on to become the Party President in 2021.
Mohammed Azharuddin
One of India’s best captains Mohammed Azharuddin joined the political landscape in 2009 with the Congress Party. Like Azhar’s century on debut, he had a triumphant victory in the general elections from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh to become an MP in 2009. In 2019, he also was the Working President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.
Gautam Gambhir
The Hero of India’s 2007 and 2011 World Cup-winning campaigns, Gautam Gambhir has also joined Indian Politics from his hometown of Delhi. He joined the BJP party during the buildup to the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Gambhir won his debut election in East Delhi where he defeated Atishi Marlena from AAP and Congress’ Arvinder Singh Lovely.
