KOLKATA: With the fielding of cricketer Yusuf Pathan in Berhampore as TMC’s candidate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal is likely to witness the most intense one-to-one electoral battle between the greenhorn, known for his hard-hitting style of batting, and seasoned politician, a five times Congress MP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
As the Muslim electorates form nearly 67 per cent of the total voters in the Constituency and Left Front’s ally RSP bagged less than 1 per cent of votes polled in the previous general elections, the BJP appears to be a defunct factor in Chowdhury’s bastion.
Though Chowdhury protected his citadel since 1999 against any political party’s onslaught, the upcoming fray in the Murshidabad constituency is likely to be a tough one for him as Mamata Banerjee’s party was behind only 6 per cent vote-share in 2019.
Fielding Pathan in Berhampore is said to be Mamata Banerjee’s smartest move in the upcoming LS polls against the state Congress chief known to be a staunch critic of her.
“If there is 7 per cent swing in the Muslim votes, Chowdhury’s journey to the Lok Sabha will come to an end. Our party supremo’s decision to pick up Pathan to take on Chowdhury, whom she found responsible for the deadlock in seat sharing discussions with TMC’s INDIA bloc partner in Bengal, is going to erase the grand old party’s existence in Bengal,” said a senior TMC leader.
Though the Congress is yet to announce its candidate list in Bengal Chowdhury is likely to contest from Berhampore.
Chowdhury had won the seat in 2019 with a margin of 80,000 votes, but the TMC was behind only 6 per cent in terms vote-share between the two parties.
Chowdhury’s reaction after the announcement of Pathan’s candidature, too, reflected the possibility of a fierce-fight in the upcoming electoral exercise in Bengal.
“He (Pathan) could have been fielded from his home state Gujarat by the TMC as INDIA’s candidate. But he has been fielded from Berhampore to divide Muslim voters,” said Chowdhury.
