Malda (WB)

BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Thursday asserted that West Bengal has fallen behind in sports and other cultural activities, in which it used to lead the country, since Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is more interested in ‘Khela Hobe’ (political game).

Lambasting the mess surrounding football legend Lionel Messi’s appearance in Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium in December 2025, he said it happened because of political one-upmanship.

Addressing a meeting with members of sports clubs and NGOs here, the BJP chief said that West Bengal has fallen behind in sports and other cultural activities, in which it used to be the leader in the country, since “the chief minister here is more interested in ‘Khela Hobe’ (political game)”.

Criticising the TMC government for the ‘Khela Hobe’ (game will be played) slogan, he said, “For them, the sporting arena has become a political playground.” The TMC chief is known to raise this slogan during elections in the state.

Stating that the time has come to punish such people, he said that states like Haryana, Gujarat, and Bihar have made tremendous advancements in sporting activities.

Nabin said that to end this culture, “this corruption and cut-money ridden TMC government has to be sent packing”. West Bengal is due for assembly elections on April 23 and 29, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 4.

The BJP chief alleged that during the TMC rule, sports clubs are used for preparing a game plan for “booth-capturing during the elections”. He asserted it will not be allowed to happen this assembly election, maintaining that misuse of sports clubs for such purposes will be ended by a BJP government.