[ad_1]
Yusuf Pathan, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate from West Bengal’s Berhampore, on Wednesday arrived in Kolkata to attend meetings for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
“I am excited to be here in Kolkata. A meeting has been scheduled to plan for the upcoming Lok Sabha election campaigning,” the former Indian cricketer told reporters after arriving in the city.
According to media reports, Yusuf Pathan will also visit Berhampore on Thursday to start his Lok Sabha campaign.
TMC workers in the city have planned a red carpet welcome to greet the star candidate at the party office.
According to Deccan Chronicle, Bharatpur TMC MLA Humayun Kabir, who had earlier opposed Yusuf Pathan’s candidature and called him an ‘outsider’, told the party that he would support him.
Kabir said in a video message that he decided to support Yusuf Pathan after a meeting with TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Berhampore in Murshidabad district is a Congress stronghold currently held by its Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The Congress hasn’t declared Chowdhury as its candidate for the seat yet.
Yusuf Pathan’s candidature was announced by TMC on March 10 as the party named for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticised the TMC for announcing Yusuf Pathan as one of its candidates.
Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led party is trying to bring “people from outside”.
“It is clear that TMC is bringing people from outside. I don’t know if Kirti Azad and Yusuf Pathan are Bengali, Yusuf Pathan is from Gujarat, and so is PM Modi, but for them, PM Modi is an outsider,” he said.
Who is Yusuf Pathan?
Yusuf Pathan, an all-rounder, was part of India’s limited-overs cricket team that won the global titles of 2007 ICC WT20 and 2011 ICC World Cup.
Pathan made his international debut for India in the final of the 2007 ICC WT20 against Pakistan. He represented India in 22 T20Is. He also played 57 ODIs for India in which he scored 810 runs and picked up 33 wickets.
Yusuf Pathan made a name for himself in Indian Premier League (IPL), while playing for Rajasthan Royals, which led to his national call-up. He also represented Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
He announced his retirement from international cricket in 2021.
[ad_2]
