Leander Paes, one of India's most celebrated tennis players, joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, ahead of high-stakes polls in the eastern state of West Bengal.

53-year-old Paes was born in West Bengal's capital city of Kolkata but lived in the southern state of Goa. He has won eight Grand Slam doubles titles and 10 career Grand Slam mixed doubles championships.

His partnership with Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupati had been dubbed the 'Indian Express' by media.

Pictures uploaded to social media by the BJP's social media handle showed the former sportsman announcing his move with other senior party members at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.

He thanked Modi and the BJP "family" for nurturing him and giving him the opportunity to serve the country. "I played for 40 years, for my parents and family. Now this new game I have entered is for my country and its youth," he said.

Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijju welcomed the "champion who has brought pride to the nation."

Paes' entry in BJP is being widely seen as a blow to West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party.

In 2021, Paes had joined the TMC, which is also popular in Goa, where party leader and vocal Modi critic Mamata Banerjee had called him her "younger brother." However, Paes did not contest elections for the TMC.

West Bengal, along with four other legislative assemblies, are set for elections in April. Modi's BJP has managed to make some inroads in the traditionally left-leaning state but failed to win an election so far.