Yusuf Pathan waves at the crowd during the TMC rally in Kolkata.
Credit: PTI Photo
Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced on Sunday that former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest the Lok Sabha polls from West Bengal's Baharampur constituency.
Banerjee sprung the biggest surprise of the day by nominating the former Indian all-rounder from Baharampur seat, which is historically a stronghold of state Congress chief and five-term MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
"I'm eternally grateful to Smt. Mamata Banerjee for welcoming me into the TMC family and trusting me with the responsibility to become the people's voice in the Parliament. As representatives of the people, it is our duty to uplift the poor and deprived, and that is what I hope to achieve," Pathan posted on X.
Reacting to the candidature of Pathan, Adhir Chowdhury said it was an attempt to divide Muslim votes.
The BJP, which wondered whether TMC couldn't find its own candidates, said the candidate list is full of "bohiragatos (outsiders)", a coinage used by TMC to attack BJP leaders.
"Pathan is from Baroda in Gujarat or West Bengal? TMC list is full of what Mamata Banerjee calls 'Bohiragotos'. Shame on her divisive politics, which is holding back West Bengal," BJP leader Amit Malviya posted on X.
Pathan, who was part of India's 2011 World Cup-winning team under MS Dhoni, officially retired from all forms of cricket in February 2021.
(With PTI inputs)