I am here to stay in politics, remain connected to people: Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan, former cricketer, now a TMC politician in Kolkata, aims to serve people with love and respect.

Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan, the TMC’s face against Congress heavyweight Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Baharampur, says he is here to stay in politics and remain connected to people of the city, who have already “accepted him as one of their own”.

Mr. Pathan, who retired from all forms of the sport in February 2021, feels with each passing day in Baharampur, he is gaining strength and confidence.

“I am blessed to have come to a place where people are telling me ‘aap ko hum yahan se jaane nahi denge’ (we won’t let you leave us),” the right-hand batsman, known for his towering sixes, told PTI in an interview.

“People here have already accepted me as their son, brother or friend. I will stick to them no matter what the outcome of the polls is. I will be with them for a better future they deserve. These people are my strength and, ‘inshallah’, I will win. With the kind of positive mindset I am currently in, I am not even thinking of the possibility of a loss,” Mr. Pathan said.

He is contesting from the prestigious Baharampur Lok Sabha seat in Murshidabad district of West Bengal on a Trinamool Congress ticket, and has emerged as the prime challenger to Congress veteran and incumbent Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on his home turf.

“I have the utmost respect for Adhir Chowdhury, who is a senior leader,” he said.

“But when I listen to people, I hear discontentment over his absence from grassroots during the Covid years. People here allege that Mr. Chowdhury failed to bring in the required central grants to create infrastructure and employment opportunities. There’s not enough work for people and the MP of 25 years should answer people why he failed,” said the hard-hitting former cricketer, who moved from Gujarat to fight for a seat on the Lok Sabha floor from Bengal.