Indians took a short break from the ICC T20 World Cup as the Lok Sabha election 2024 results were declared on Tuesday. Like always, a handful of sportstar-turned-politicians were in the fray across the nation, representing both the ruling NDA and the main opposition INDIA alliance.
Here are five sports figures who were part of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Read on to find out if how many of them made it to the Lower House of the Indian Parliament.
1. Yusuf Pathan
The former big-hitting all-rounder was a member of the 2011 ICC World Cup-winning Indian team under MS Dhoni. The brother of Irfan Pathan, another Indian international, Yusuf played 57 ODIs for India scoring 810 runs and picking 33 wickets. He has also played for the Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
Yusuf Pathan joined the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 2024 and contested from the Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency. He successfully defeated Congress stalwart and five-time MP of the constituency Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury by a margin of over 85,000 votes.
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2. Naveen Jindal
Naveen Jindal is the current Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited and was the BJP's Lok Sabha contender from Haryana's Kurukshetra. The son of the late businessman and politician Om Prakash Jindal, Naveen has his polo team and has won several competitions, including the Indian Open, Indian Masters, and Bhopal Pataudi Cup, to mention a few.
Naveen Jindal also competed for his country in skeet shooting in the 2002 Asian Games before winning a silver medal in the 2004 South Asian Games in Pakistan. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election he defeated AAP’s Sushil Gupta and won by a margin of 29,021 votes.
3. Prasun Banerjee
Prasun Banerjee was the Lok Sabha candidate from West Bengal's Howrah seat for the All India Trinamool Congress. The 69-year-old served as the captain of the Indian national football team. Between 1974 and 1985, he played 49 matches for India. He also played for Mohun Bagan and won the Arjuna Award in 1979. In the Howrah constituency, he defeated Dr Rathin Chakravarty from the BJP by 1,69,442 votes.
4. Dilip Tirkey
Dilip Tirkey is a former hockey player who captained Indian field hockey and is now the president of Hockey India. He was known as 'The Wall of Indian Hockey' and received the Padma Shree in 2004. Dilip Tirkey joined Odisha's Biju Janata Dal in 2012. In the 2024 General Election, he lost against the BJP veteran Jual Oram by 1,38,808 votes.
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5. Kirti Azad
Kirti Azad is a former cricketer who represented India at the international level and was a member of the squad that notably won the 1983 World Cup. He was an outstanding Ranji Trophy player who played 95 games and scored 4867 runs. At the international level, he appeared in 25 One-Day Internationals and 7 Test matches.
Kirti Azad is the son of former Bihar Chief Minister Bhagwat Jha Azad and won the 2014 Lok Sabha election for the Darbhanga seat under the banner of the Indian National Congress. In 2019, he switched allegiance, joining the Trinamool Congress. He contested from the Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat and won against BJP veteran leader Dilip Ghosh by 1,37,981 votes.
