- Sourav Ganguly denied asking Yusuf Pathan to vacate his seat for Mamata Banerjee
- Yusuf Pathan also refuted claims that Banerjee requested him to resign as MP
- Reports suggested Banerjee might take the Lok Sabha route to regain political ground
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has denied that he asked Lok Sabha MP Yusuf Pathan on behalf of Mamata Banerjee to give up his seat for her to contest a bypoll, as the Trinamool navigates an existential crisis after losing power in West Bengal. Even Pathan has refuted such reports as "false."
Banerjee, Trinamool chief and a three-time chief minister, had been struggling to keep her party afloat amid rebellions after the April-May shock. She not only lost power but also her Bhabanipur bastion, now left without any legislative membership.
A Sensation Claim
A Bengal daily reported last week that Banerjee might take the Lok Sabha route as she prepares for a comeback in Bengal politics. But for her to contest a Lok Sabha bypoll, the Trinamool must ensure a vacancy.
The report claimed that the party had sought Ganguly's help to convince Pathan to vacate his Baharampur seat so that Banerjee could contest a repoll. But Pathan turned down the proposal, it further added.
Read: Fear, Anxiety And 'Missing' Leadership: Inside The Trinamool Mutiny
The claims surfaced at a time when Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee are preparing for a meeting with their key allies in Delhi to build a strategy to stay relevant in national politics.
What Ganguly Said
Ganguly has refuted the report as "incorrect and untrue".
"It was alleged that I had contacted Mr Yusuf Pathan on behalf of Ms Banerjee and had carried her message that he should step down/resign from his Constitutional post as the elected representative of the aforesaid constituency in order to enable Ms. Banerjee to contest the ensuing by-elections from the said constituency. The article further alleged that Mr. Yusuf Pathan was not agreeable to act on the aforesaid message conveyed by me on behalf of Ms Banerjee. The aforesaid allegations are untrue," the former cricketer has said in a statement.
He further said that the allegations made in the article about him were in "reckless disregard of the truth."
"I was never requested/asked by Ms Mamata Banerjee to convey any message from her to Mr Yusuf Pathan, whether to step down from his parliamentary seat, as alleged or otherwise or at all. In the circumstances and, in any event, I never approached or contacted Mr Yusuf Pathan with any such or other request/message. As such, the question of Mr Yusuf Pathan responding in the manner as alleged in the article does not and cannot arise," he added.
Read: In Who-Is-Real-Trinamool Fight, Pushback Planned Against Ritabrata Banerjee
The former cricketer also clarified that he has never been involved in any political matter.
Pathan's Denial
Pathan, a former cricketer who has played briefly with Ganguly in the IPL, said Banerjee had never asked her to step down as an MP.
"For quite some time now, news has been going viral claiming that Mamata Banerjee asked me to resign from my MP seat, Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency, so that she could contest the election from there. Mamata Banerjee never spoke to me about this matter. This claim is completely false. So, neither Mamata Banerjee nor any party leader has asked me to resign from my MP seat," he said in a video message.
Pathan had entered electoral politics with the Trinamool in 2024. He emerged as a giant killer by defeating Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in his Baharampur stronghold.
