From the grass of the Maidan to the Trinamool of Mamata, there was talk late last year of Baichung Bhutia joining Bengal’s ruling party. Earlier this week, the rumor was confirmed. Amidst the chaos in the hills, the former Indian football captain will be the Trinamool Congress’ candidate from Darjeeling. If he wins, the ‘Sikkimese sniper’ will be one of the few sportsmen in Parliament, a list dominated by cricketers. Among the incumbents is Navjot Singh Sidhu, having entered the Lok Sabha in 2004 on a BJP ticket. There is also Kirti Azad, part of India’s 1983 World Cup winning team, who, in 1999 was elected to parliament on a BJP ticket from Darbhanga, Bihar and is currently serving his second term in the Lok Sabha. And in 2009, former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin joined the Congress party in 2009 and went on to win a Lok Sabha seat from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Unelected, but no less popular, Sachin Tendulkar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 for his contribution to cricket. His attendance has been shoddy, although that could change now that he’s hung up his boots and pad (and the famously uncomfortable groin guard). Of course, the one thing common between all these men is that they once played cricket. But there are, as we’ve discovered, other Indian sportsmen and women who could (and should) run for elections.

PT Usha

Some 30 years ago, Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha was among the fastest Indians on the planet. And in the rough-and-tumble of today`s Kerala politics, the Payyoli Express may just be able to win big on the Malabar.

Of course, the Arjuna award winner and Padma Shri recipient nowadays stays busy with her school of athletics, but if she can find some time out, it`s not entirely difficult to imagine her winning the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency. The Golden Girl, as she was also known, only has to beat Congressman K. Sudhakaran, who’s had his issues with the law in the past few years.And when Sachin finally decided to call it a day late last year, Usha was all for the cricketer becoming India`s unofficial sports minister. That didn`t happen. So, maybe the sprinter should enter the race herself?

Vijender Singh

The Olympic Bronze medalist and poster boy of Indian boxing has built a thriving alternate career of dancing on reality TV and walking runways at fashion shows. Now, the boy from Haryana`s Bhiwani is readying for his his Bollywood debut this year with a film called – wait for it – Fugly.

I still fail to understand why only cricketers are given perks like free land, and so on. Come on, we boxers aren`t that bad either: We`re smart, intelligent and decent looking too! he complained to the WSJ in 2012.

He loves the limelight and thrives well under pressure. Perhaps it wouldn`t be completely amiss for the 28-year old to make a play for one of Haryana`s 10 seats?