Paes stated his strong alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision and leadership. Asked about potential political changes in Bengal and his message to young voters, he said, “Every team has a leader, a captain, and I have played on many teams in my life. Our leader is our PM, Narendra Modi. Whatever he requires me to do to empower our state and country and run sports in our country, I will follow our leader. I think his vision and his leadership skills are impeccable. I talked with our PM about the issues of Bengal and the youth, to which his simple words were that youth and sports can empower a nation.”

When questioned about his plans for supporting young people pursuing sports careers if the BJP gains power, Paes expressed his desire to create more opportunities through sports. He added, “Our leader is our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Whatever he requires me to do to empower our state and country, I will follow our leader. His leadership skills are impeccable. Leaders of the party (BJP) welcomed me with so much respect. With PM Modi, I talked about issues in Bengal, for the youth, and he said, ‘Youth and sports can empower a nation’. Under the leadership of PM Modi, I will serve our country to make India great again. People like me normally stay away because of the fear of politics… but my Baba left me with a message to empower the 500 million children through sports and sports education. My heart beats for India and the Tiranga. I will work hard.”

Responding to being described as an outsider in West Bengal politics despite his heritage, Paes said he was unaffected, noting, “I don’t get hurt by these things because if you go back to the 17th century, my forefathers were Bengali. After I won my Olympic medal in 1996, lots of young Indian children felt they could also win. The same goes for politics.”

Earlier in a press conference, Paes expressed concern about migration and the limited opportunities for youth in West Bengal. He said that a lack of prospects in sports, education, employment, and safety had compelled many young people to leave the state.

He stated, “The most important issue in West Bengal is migration – migration from the metro city. The sports opportunity is continuously declining. It is very unfortunate how our youth migrate away from here, be it for education, employment, safety, or several other important issues. We need to be better. We need Bengal to be great again. There was a time when people from all over the world came to Bengal for business, but there is nothing left now. We need to become what we were before – the centre of culture, commerce, manufacturing, education, business and many things. We need to change Bengal.”