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A report claimed that Sourav Ganguly approached Yusuf Pathan on behalf of Mamata Banerjee and asked him to step down from his parliamentary seat.
Former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with TMC MP Yusuf Pathan. (X/Yusuf Pathan)
After the recent poll drubbing in Bengal, where she lost her Bhabanipur seat to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, reports surfaced that Mamata Banerjee was seeking an entry into Parliament by asking Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan to vacate his Baharampur seat.
A report by Anandabazar Patrika claimed that former cricketer Sourav Ganguly had approached Yusuf Pathan on behalf of Mamata Banerjee to carry her message that he should step down from his position as Baharampur MP in order to allow the former CM to contest the by-elections from the constituency.
Yusuf Pathan, also a former cricketer, emerged as a giant killer in Baharampur on his political debut in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, defeating veteran Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Baharampur is considered to be a safe seat for the TMC, with a 50-52% Muslim population.
‘Dada’ Clears The Air
However, Ganguly later denied approaching Pathan to ask him to vacate his seat, calling them in “reckless disregard of truth.”
“The aforesaid allegations are untrue. I would request the media not to fall prey to rumours and speculations without verifying the correctness of the facts printed and published. It is extremely unfortunate that kit was not deemed necessary to check and verify the truth and veracity of the aforesaid allegations in the article,” he said.
Former Captain of the Indian Cricket Team, Sourav Ganguly, says, “…It was alleged that I had contacted Mr Yusuf Pathan on behalf of Mamta Banerjee, the former Chief Minister of West Bengal and had carried her message that he should step down/resign from his Constitutional post… pic.twitter.com/0RkRsRhYfo— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2026
“It is thus necessary to place on record that 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,” he said, adding that he has never been involved in political matters at any stage.
The report came as the TMC, which won just 80 seats in the 2026 Assembly elections, is facing its most serious existential crisis after over 60 MLAs broke ranks and elected expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly. Several party leaders have openly expressed dissatisfaction with the party leadership and are planning to quit.
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int…Read More
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