Sports and politics go side by side. We have witnessed many players who joined politics. Some of these players sustained while some didn’t get success as they were in sports-
Gautam Gambhir- He had an excellent carrier as a cricketer. Currently, he is a member of Lok Sabha from South Delhi. His statements and ideology resonance with BJP’s ideology.
Rajya Vardhan Rathor- He won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic for Double trap Shooting. Currently, he MP from Jaipur rural seat. He was the sports minister in NDA-1 and did excellent work. In the tenure on Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathor as Sports minister, Khelo India Tournament started. By this tournament, India has got players like Srihari Harinatraj, etc.
Babita Kumari- She is a female wrestler who won a gold medal in commonwealth 2014 and 2018. In the Haryana Assembly elections 2019, she was in the fray from BJP by Bhiwani-Mehendragarh. However, failed to win the elections.
Mohammad Azharuddin- He was one of the most successful captains of the Indian Cricket team. In 2000 his name was dragged in match fix controversy. He was elected as MP from Hyderabad on congress’s ticket. Currently, he is president of the Hyderabad cricket association.
In our country, every citizen has the right to participate in elections. So these celebrities have to participate in the election. But the contention is that sometimes these famous personalities get awarded tickets without doing any work in the ground. There sports credentials don’t guarantee that they would be a good leader and serve their constituency. It is not fair for those leaders who work day and night in-ground but get denied the tickets.