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Kolkata, March 10 (IANS) As Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced the name of former cricketer Yusuf Pathan as party's candidate from Baharampur constituency of West Bengal for Lok Sabha elections, there was a pin-drop silence for a moment at the mega rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Central Kolkata on Sunday.
The very next moment, the entire ground heard the roar of accolades, probably after the audience got over the initial surprise as the Pathan's name was never any sort of discussion or speculation during the last few days as a probable party candidate.
State Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is the five-time sitting Lok Sabha member from that constituency.
Few minutes later, there was another round of silence followed by accolades as Abhishek Banerjee announced the name of another former cricketer Kirti Azad as the party candidate from Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency in West Burdwan district. BJP’s Surinder Singh Ahluwalia is the sitting MP from that constituency.
In other major surprise, actor Nusrat Jahan, the sitting MP from the Basirhat seat, has been dropped from the list. Party MLA Haji Nurul Islam has been fielded from the constituency.
As expected, popular actor of yesteryears, Shatrughan Sinha, who is the sitting TMC Lok Sabha member from Asansol constituency also in West Burdwan district, got re-nominated this time as well.
Another surprise in the list was fielding of Bengali cine-star and anchor of the popular reality show “Didi Number 1” Rachana Banerjee for Hooghly Lok Sabha constituency in Hooghly district. The sitting BJP Lok Sabha member from that constituency is another actress-turned- politician Locket Chatterjee.
Actress Saaayoni Ghosh, who is the currently the state president of the youth wing of Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, will be contesting from the Jadavpur constituency after actor and the sitting MP from that constituency Mimi Chakraborty announced that she wanted to quit politics.
Another actress-turned politician June Malia, who is already a Trinamool Congress legislator, will be contesting from Medinipur constituency in West Midnapore district. BJP’s former national vice-president and former state president in West Bengal, Dilip Ghosh, is sitting Lok Sabha MP of the seat.
Actor Prasun Banerjee, who is already the sitting Lok Sabha member from Howrah constituency in Kolkata adjacent Howrah district, has also been re-nominated.
Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha in a bribe-for-question scam, has been renominated from the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency.
'You will truly make a difference...', Irfan Pathan pens heartfelt post as brother Yusuf embarks on political journey
ormer India cricketer Irfan Pathan shared words of encouragement and support for his brother and ex-India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan as he sets foot into the realm of politics. Trinamool Congress on Sunday announced 42 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024, which included Pathan, who will contest from the Baharampur constituency.
"Your patience, kindness, help to the needy and service to people even without an official position can be easily noticed. I am confident that once you step into a political role, you will truly make a difference in the daily lives of people @iamyusufpathan," Irfan wrote in his social media post.
Yusuf, a hard-hitting batter and off-spinner suited to the shorter formats of the game, represented India from 2007 to 2012 in 79 matches across T20 and ODI formats, scoring 1046 runs and has 46 wickets to his name.
He first donned Indian colours in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007, in the finals of the tournament.
Yusuf Pathan was a member of the Indian teams that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2021.
