Why Gautam Gambhir ended his political career | Going Back
A party official claimed that the BJP had “conveyed to him” its intention to field the former Indian cricketer and MP again, “even if not from East Delhi or a seat in the capital.”
Gautam Gambhir, the party’s East Delhi MP and former cricket player, shocked many, including those in the BJP, when he revealed his intention to leave politics and return to the game just hours before the BJP unveiled its first list of Lok Sabha candidates on Saturday.
The BJP “was looking to repeat him as a candidate, even if not from East Delhi or a seat in the capital,” according to a source in the party, and this decision “was conveyed to him.” The source said that “a senior Union Minister” referred to Gambhir as “the perfect candidate” who could guarantee an extra 370 votes per booth in his Lok Sabha constituency—a goal the BJP leadership has set in order to win 370 seats—at an organizational meeting that preceded the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on Thursday night, when the names for the first list were drafted.
According to the BJP insider, Gambhir was now thinking about managing cricket “at least in Delhi, if not the country.” The governance of cricket, in fact, was the driving force behind Gambhir’s decision to enter politics. According to Delhi BJP leaders, Gambhir was friendly with the family of former Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It is reported that Gambhir paid great attention to Jaitley’s term, which started in the late 1990s, as president of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). He remained in the position until his death in 2019. The leaders claim that Gambhir decided to enter politics on Jaitley’s suggestion.
Following the March 2018 announcement of Gautam’s Padma Shri, Arun ji requested him to make the choice. Gambhir consented to become a member of the party and complied with directives to increase his involvement and expression of nationalism in the media, according to a leader.
Gambhir carried on as a cricket analyst and did just that, joining the BJP in March 2019. Soon after, Gambhir was designated as the BJP’s East Delhi Delhi. Riding the party’s wave of victory in Delhi, where it received over 56% of the vote, he received seven lakh votes and won the seat.
Despite a smooth transition into politics, Gambhir’s term in office was marked by instability. He frequently engaged in heated arguments with AAP politicians and constantly challenged Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal “over the promise of transforming the capital into a World Class city.”
But what really bothered him were the issues within the party. Within Delhi BJP circles, there were some whispers in 2019 over Gambhir’s nonattendance at party gatherings and his run-ins with colleagues. It is learnt that the local cadre lodged a complaint with the BJP leadership regarding Gambhir’s absence from organisational meetings, including important ones like the BJP national council meeting in February, which was attended by the Prime Minister and senior Union Ministers.
Within days after taking office, his outspokenness, both online and off, became problematic. Gambhir denounced a thrashing and urging of a Muslim man in Gurgaon to display Hindu slogans on Twitter (now X) in May 2019. Gambhir emphasized that India was “a secular nation” and demanded “exemplary action” against the defendants in the case.
After that, Manoj Tiwari, the president of the Delhi BJP, concurred that the incident was “deplorable,” as Gambhir had described it, but he is also rumored to have advised against “reacting to reports” while an inquiry is still ongoing.
A Delhi BJP senior claimed that during an event in June 2023 that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was present at, Gambhir got into an altercation with two BJP lawmakers representing East Delhi constituencies. The BJP official stated, “Many of those present at this event were the people who were not only part of his election campaign but also consistently assisted him after he became MP.”
Notwithstanding these issues, BJP officials acknowledge that Gambhir’s community and humanitarian activities helped him establish a solid foundation in East Delhi. These include community kitchens, or Jan Rasois; converting waste collection locations into libraries after they have been cleaned; and persistently bringing up the idea of lowering the Ghazipur landfill’s height. In addition, he founded the East Delhi Premier League, which provides a platform for young players from low-income households to showcase their abilities.
Because of this, a segment of the party that feels that Gambhi has been “unfairly targeted” since entering politics continues to support him. He is a resolute individual who expresses his opinions both online and offline. A BJP leader said, “Over the last few years, even as he was about to enter public life, there has been a dedicated campaign against him to portray him as undeserving,” noting that Gambhir is still well-liked in East Delhi. “In order to give back to a sport that is fundamental to who he is as a person, he has decided to return to cricket, with which he has always been associated despite his political and party duties.”
