Former Indian tennis legend Leander Paes, known for his 18 Grand Slam victories, has joined the BJP after initially joining the Trinamool Congress in 2026.
Leander Paes is a former professional tennis player from India who is known as one of the greatest doubles players in the history of the sport. He won 18 Grand Slam titles during his 20-year career and won an Olympic gold medal, making Paes one of the most accomplished athletes in Indian tennis history.
Paes began his political journey in 2021 when he joined the party Trinamool Congress. However, ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, he switched to the BJP, marking a major shift in his political alliance and supporting the party’s campaign for statehood.
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5 Key Facts about Leander Paes
- Born in Kolkata in 1973, Leander Paes comes from a sports-oriented family. His father, Vissy Paes, was an Olympic medalist in hockey, while his mother Jennifer Paes represented India in basketball. He trained at the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy in Chennai, where he developed his early skills.
- Paes began his professional tennis career in the early 1990s and gained global attention by winning the junior Wimbledon title in 1990. He later became a key player for India in the Davis Cup, contributing greatly to the team’s successes over the years and earning a reputation for his fighting spirit and leadership.
- Paes’s career highlight was winning a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, making him the first Indian man to win an individual Olympic medal since independence from Britain. This achievement is one of the most memorable moments in the history of Indian tennis.
- Paes has received several prestigious awards for his contributions to sports during his career, including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the Padma Shri Award and the Padma Bhushan Award. He remained an elite competitor in the latter stages of his professional career before retiring from tennis in 2021 and Then get into politics.
Payal is a budding journalist currently pursuing her passion for storytelling at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. I have always loved writing and reading, and over time, these interests developed into a strong desire to tell stories that people can connect with. This is what prompted her to choose journalism and content writing as her profession. I interned with Prabhat Khabar, where I worked with the social media team. During her internship, she created content for different platforms and learned how to write in a clear and engaging way for a wide audience. This experience helped her understand how digital content works and improve her writing skills. Payal is always looking to learn and grow as a writer. She is open to exploring different types of stories and wants to keep getting better with each piece she writes. Aside from her work and studies, she is an avid reader. She enjoys reading all kinds of books, especially fantasy and fantasy, and loves getting lost in different worlds and characters. Reading has always been a big part of her life and continues to inspire her writing. She is excited to continue learning, writing, and discovering where her journey in journalism takes her.Read more
