Lok Sabha elections are just a few weeks away. And political parties and their candidates have jumped into the fray of campaigning for the polls. Like other states, the ground has been set in West Bengal too.
Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in the state, had announced its candidates for the 42 Lok Sabha seats in one go. Former Indian cricket player Yusuf Pathan was a surprising addition to the list. He has been fielded from Berhampore which is known to be Congress’s turf.
Congress veteran Adhir Chowdhury has been winning from the seat since 1999. At a time when the TMC has given a strong message of not undermining themselves in their state by refusing to forge an alliance with the Congress pertaining to the INDIA bloc, it was expected that the party would name someone who would match Chowdhury’s stature.
Nonetheless, the TMC candidate from the Berhampore seat has geared up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Yusuf has reached the state and will, reportedly, start campaigning for the elections from Thursday. He is expected to reach Bethampore today.
The TMC has, reportedly, planned a red carpet welcome to greet the star candidate at the party office.
Bharatpur TMC MLA Humayun Kabir had earlier opposed Pathan’s candidature and called him an ‘outsider’. However, he has now agreed to support him after a meeting with TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
As far as the seat is concerned, Berhampore in Murshidabad district is known to be a Congress stronghold. Although the Congress hasn’t declared Chowdhury as its candidate for the seat yet, it is unlikely that the party would consider anyone else over Chowdhury.
While it is unclear who will contest from the Congress in Berhampore, The TMC is leaving no stone unturned to put up a fierce fight in Congress’s turf.
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