From S. Sreesanth to Bhaichung Bhutia: Here's how sportspersons fared in the 2016 Assembly Elections
In India, you would often come across a person who holds a lot of pride in the fact that his country is the single largest democracy in the world. With its origins in Greek, the word ‘democracy’ means ‘rule of the people’ when translated into English. It is a type of government where the commoners vote to elect their representatives at the national level and it is quite safe to say that the country of 1.2 billion celebrates the very essence of democracy like no other.
Therefore, it was a pretty big day for the four Indian states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal who were awaiting their respective Legislative Assembly Election results today. And so it was for a number of sportspersons as well, who had contested in this year’s State Assembly polls.
One of the heavyweight names who had contested for the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala was Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. The 33-year-old right-arm medium fast bowler who had represented India in 27 Test matches and 53 One Day Internationals couldn’t quite start his political career in the way he would have wanted to.
Touted as one of the dark horses of the Kerala Assembly Elections, S. Sreesanth finished third at the Thiruvananthapuram constituency after Health Minister VS Sivakumar (Indian National Congress) and Antony Raju (Independent). The 33-year-old former Kochi Tuskers Kerala bowling spearhead could only manage to accumulate a total of 34,764 votes.
Stars don't do well in West Bengal
The state of West Bengal witnessed a host of sportspersons who contested at the 2015-16 State Assembly Elections. The poster boy of Indian football, Bhaichung Bhutia was representing Trinamool Congress (TMC) but lost the prestigious Siliguri seat to the Left Front heavyweight, Ashok Bhattacharya by a gigantic margin. His fellow footballers Syed Rahim Nabi and Sashthi Duley couldn’t quite make the cut as well.
Truly, one of the most versatile footballers ever to represent India at the world level, Syed Rahim Nabi has represented a host of big clubs such as East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting in the period between 2004 and 2013. Born in Pandua, Hooghly, Nabi lost the 2016 State Elections while representing Trinamool Congress.
Sashti Duley, a member of East Bengal’s 2003 ASEAN Cup-winning squad, had contested the West Bengal Assembly Elections on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Former Indian athlete and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar who is affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) finished second in the race to the Sonarpur (North) constituency of West Bengal.
However, there were a number sportspersons who did start their political career with a thumping victory over their respective opponents. Former Indian footballer, Dipendu Biswas (Bashirhat), the erstwhile Bengal captain, Laxmi Ratan Shukla (Howrah North) and the 63-year-old former Indian bodybuilder, Tushar Sil (Amta) added another three more seats to Trinamool Congress’ final tally of 213 (out of 294) in West Bengal.