TMC Candidate Yusuf Pathan Said This About Opponent Adhir Ranjan ChowdhuryAs Trinamool Congress candidate Yusuf Pathan is all set to give a tough fight in the Congress stronghold, the cricketer-turned-politician today said that he respects Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the sitting Congress MP from Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency, where the former cricketer is contesting the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress MP is vying for his fifth consecutive term.
Speaking to the news agency ANI, the Baharampur TMC candidate said that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is a senior Congress leader and has been winning from the seat for the past several years. “But this time, I am getting support from people and they need change. So I am confident that they want change here…I am absolutely ready to come and work here,” Yusuf Pathan was heard saying in the video shared by the news agency.
Yusuf Pathan has been pitched against the five-time Congress MP and the party’s West Bengal president. Notably, the Congress’s Adhir Ranjan’s vote share has seen shrinking in the past few general elections, while the TMC saw an uptick in its vote share.
The former cricketer has faced allegations from the opposition that he is an outsider to Baharampur constituency. Kickstarting his election campaigns last month, the TMC candidate had reacted to the outsider barbs, noting that even the Prime Minister is contesting from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh despite hailing from Gujrat. He also said that he is a Bengali’s son and has come there to stay.
As Pathan is fielded from the Congress stronghold, it is learnt that there have been concerns in the Congress camp. The Congress candidate and party state chief in a public event said that politics and cricket were not the same, hinting at the candidature of the former cricketer.
However, Yusuf Pathan appears to be ready to give a tough electoral battle in the traditional Congress citadel.