In a surprising turn of events, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Gautam Gambhir has announced his decision to step away from active politics. The former cricketer, who represented East Delhi, took to Twitter to share the news with his followers and supporters. He expressed his desire to focus on his cricket commitments, citing the need to redirect his attention to the sport he passionately played before entering politics.
"I have requested Hon'ble Party President JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind," Mr Gambhir wrote.
Gambhir's decision to quit politics comes amid reports that Mr Gambhir may not get a ticket for the upcoming 2024 polls.
The BJP is expected to release a first list of candidates - over 100 names, which will include heavyweights like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah - for the 2024 Lok Sabha election soon. The party held marathon overnight meetings in Delhi, including one led by the Prime Minister at his Delhi residence that began 11 pm Thursday and finished at 4 am Friday.
Gambhir, had joined the BJP in March 2019 and since then has become a prominent face of the party in Delhi. He contested and won the East Delhi seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by a substantial margin of 6,95,109 votes.
Notably, Mr Gambhir will be occupied in the coming months due to his commitments in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he is serving as the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a team he led to two IPL titles as a captain.
He was a key player of the Indian teams which secured the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. In 242 matches for India, Gambhir made 10,324 runs at an average of 38.95, with 20 centuries and 63 half-centuries.