West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee more interested in 'Khela Hobe', not in sports development: Nitin Nabin

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.

"The game of football will be restored to its previous glory in West Bengal by our government," he said.

"When we talk of 'Fit India' movement, Mamata Didi does not participate because she wants to 'hit' India... She finds Bangladeshis fit and wants to settle them down in the state, but she has no feelings for the people of West Bengal," the BJP chief said.

"The TMC government is a model of oppression and has no interest in the development model," he said.

Stating that more than 6,000 companies have left West Bengal, he said if these firms had flourished in the state, the sports clubs would have been benefitted by their CSR activities.

West Bengal was known to play a paramount role in sporting activities in the country, the BJP chief said, holding that the sports clubs in the state, which played a pivotal role in this, have now become the centres of extortion.

"When Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for advancing sporting activities were taken up across the country, West Bengal continued to lag behind," he said.