New Delhi: One is usually front page, the other mostly at the back. But in election season, politics and sports converge, defying the old adage that the two do not and should not mix.
Sports stars have long dotted the political firmament and will do so again this election with seasoned names like Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Kirti Azad and Navjot Singh Sidhu in the reckoning and maybe some newbies like cricketer Gautam Gambhir joining their fray.
The 16th Lok Sabha featured accomplished sportspersons like Rathore, a BJP leader who is minister of state for Information and Broadcasting, as well as former cricketer Kirti Azad (in the BJP to start with and now with the Congress), former football captain Prasun Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) and national-level shooter Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo (BJD).
Deo won a trap gold at the national junior shooting championships in 1991.
Rathore, a double trap shooter, became a path-breaker when he was appointed the first sportsperson to helm the sports ministry in September 2017. He now holds independent charge of the I&B ministry.
The 15th Lok Sabha had, apart from Azad and Deo, former cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin (Congress) and his ex-teammate Navjot Singh Sidhu (BJP).
Azharuddin was in the fray from the Moradabad constituency in 2014 as well but ended up on the losing side.
Sidhu, on the other hand, made his way to the Rajya Sabha after being denied a ticket in 2014 and eventually quit the BJP to join the Congress.
In 2004, celebrated middle distance runner Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, who won two gold medals in her only Asian Games appearance, represented West Bengal’s Krishnanagar constituency for the CPI(M).
Among the earliest to make the seamless transition from sports to politics was hockey star Aslam Sher Khan — a World Cup gold-medallist and an Olympic bronze-medallist.
Khan was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1984. He won again in 1991 before losing four elections after that.
Chetan Chauhan, the man who partnered Sunil Gavaskar in many a memorable stands, was a two-time MP, winning the Amroha constituency for the BJP in 1991 and 1998.
No active sportsperson has entered politics for now.
Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife Riva Solanki has joined the BJP. She also headed the women’s wing of the controversial Karni Sena — which grabbed headlines for violent protests against period Bollywood films deemed offensive by it.
So what pulls athletes to politics?
According to Rathore, it’s primarily the drive to do something for the nation.
“When I joined politics I was often asked how it is to be a politician after being an army man and a sportsperson. I feel the commonality is that in all my roles, I have the privilege of serving the country,” said Rathore.
Not all have been successful though. Former cricketer Mohammed Kaif, who contested once in 2009 for Congress, lost from Uttar Pradesh’s Phulpur, the constituency best known for being represented by first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Bhaichung Bhutia contested for the TMC in 2014, in what was termed a wave election for the party, but lost.
He is, however, unfazed and has floated his own party in native state Sikkim for the upcoming polls.
Competitive role aside, sportspersons will play an active role in encouraging a higher voter turnout this election.
The most high profile among the sitting Rajya Sabha MPs is boxing stalwart M C Mary Kom, who claimed her sixth world title while being an active member last year.
Before her, Tendulkar had added a bit of political history to his cricketing accomplishments by becoming the first active sportsperson to be nominated to the House of Elders.
PTI