Gautam Gambhir, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, has announced that he will be retiring from active politics. The former East Delhi cricketer took to Twitter in order to inform his fans and followers.

He said he wanted to concentrate on his cricket obligations, saying he needed to redirect his focus to the sport that captivated him before stepping into politics.

“I have asked the Hon’ble Party president, JP Nadda Ji, to relieve me from my political duties so I can concentrate on my upcoming commitments in cricket.

I am grateful to the Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the chance to serve the people. “Jai Hind”, Mr Gambhir wrote.

Gambhir’s decision is a result of reports that Mr Gambhir might not be able to get a ticket in the 2024 elections.

Soon, the BJP will release a list of over 100 candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This list includes heavyweights such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Secretary Amit Shah.

The party held marathon meetings overnight in Delhi. One of them was led by Prime Minister Modi at his Delhi home, which began at 11 pm Thursday and ended at 4 am Friday.

Gambhir joined the BJP in March 2019 and has since become a prominent figure in Delhi. He won the East Delhi constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha election by a large margin of 6,95.109 votes.

In the next few months, Mr Gambhir’s schedule will be occupied by his involvement in the Indian Premier League. He is currently the coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders team (KKR), a group he captained to two IPL championships.

He was a crucial player for the Indian teams that won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, respectively. Gambhir scored 10,324 runs in 242 matches, at an average of 38.95. He also had 20 centuries and 63 centuries.

‘Gautam Gambhir Did Nothing For East Delhi’: As A Cricketer, AAP Urges BJP To Remove Him From Politics

Delhi minister Atishi said BJP MP Gautam Gambhir did “nothing for the East Delhi” after the cricketer-turned-politician requested party president JP Nadda to relieve him of political duties during a press conference in Delhi on Saturday.

At a press briefing, Atishi said, “BJP East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir tweeted expressing his desire to retire from politics, indicating the BJP’s denial of a ticket for East Delhi.”

She said, “It is a BJP trend to elect anybody without checking their abilities and commitment to the public.” Gautam Gambhir did nothing in his field for the past five years.

Kuldeep, the AAP leader, echoed similar sentiments by saying: “We are very sorry.” The BJP has betrayed East Delhi’s people for the second time.

In 2014, it was Mahesh Giri and in 2019, Gautam Gambhir. They came, they won and then left. “He (Gautam Gambhir) has nothing to do with the people of Delhi.”

This time, the people will not trust people such as them (Gautam Gambhir & Mahesh Giri), so the BJP will be unable to win the East Delhi seat. The people have had enough of celebrities and now want someone that is theirs,” Kumar said to ANI.

Gautam Gambhir expressed earlier in the day his desire to give up political responsibilities. He is a former Indian cricketer and a Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament for East Delhi.

Gambhir announced the news on his social media account, tagging BJP President JP Nadda as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He requested JP Nadda in writing to release him from political duties.

In a tweet on X, Gambhir stated that he had asked BJP president JP Nadda for permission to step down from his political duties.

He cited a desire to concentrate on upcoming cricket engagements. He thanked Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and the Indian people for giving him the chance to serve them.

Gautam Gambhir, who joined the BJP on March 19, 2019, has become a prominent member of the party in Delhi. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he won the East Delhi Seat with a margin of 6,95,109 votes.

SEE MORE: List Of Guests Who Attend The Anant Ambani & Radhika Merchant Pre-Wedding Celebration