New Delhi, March 31 -- Indian tennis icon Leander Paes is set to formally join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, 31 March, in a development that carries considerable weight ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections.

The former Davis Cup stalwart will be inducted into the party in the presence of senior BJP leadership, the officials confirmed. The move had been widely anticipated following Paes's recent meeting with BJP state president Nitin Nabin in Kolkata.

The timing is notable. Paes is no stranger to party politics, having previously aligned himself with the Trinamool Congress in 2021. He went on to campaign actively for the TMC during the Goa assembly elections in 2022, though he did not himself contest a seat. His deci...