Fresh political speculation around Mamata Banerjee's possible entry into Parliament has taken another turn, with Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan publicly rejecting claims that he was asked to resign from his Lok Sabha seat to make way for the former West Bengal Chief Minister.
Pathan's statement comes hours after former India captain Sourav Ganguly dismissed reports that he had been approached to persuade the former cricketer to vacate the Baharampur seat. Both men have now denied allegations stemming from a report that triggered widespread political discussion in West Bengal.
Yusuf Pathan rejects resignation claims
Pathan said a claim had been circulating for some time alleging that Mamata Banerjee wanted him to resign from the Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency so that she could contest from the seat.
Rejecting the speculation, the TMC MP said Banerjee had never discussed any such proposal with him.
"Mamata Banerjee never spoke to me about this matter. This claim is completely false," Pathan said.
He further asserted that neither the TMC supremo nor any other party leader had asked him to vacate his seat.
"Neither Mamata Banerjee nor any party leader has asked me to resign from my MP seat," he added.
What triggered the controversy?
The row began after a report in a Bengali newspaper claimed that the Trinamool Congress was considering the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat as a possible route for Mamata Banerjee to enter Parliament through a by-election.
The report alleged that Pathan was asked to vacate the seat and that the party had sought Sourav Ganguly's help in conveying the message. It also claimed that Pathan declined the proposal.
Pathan won the Baharampur seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, defeating senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Sourav Ganguly had also denied report
The claims had earlier prompted a response from Ganguly, who described the allegations concerning him as "completely false".
"The allegations in the article, insofar as they concern me, are in reckless disregard of the truth," Ganguly said.
He also clarified that Mamata Banerjee never asked him to pass on any message to Pathan and that he never contacted the TMC MP regarding the matter.
"I never approached or contacted Yusuf Pathan," Ganguly said, adding that the question of Pathan responding in the manner described in the report therefore did not arise.
With both Pathan and Ganguly now rejecting the claims, the report that fuelled speculation about Mamata Banerjee's possible bypoll route to Parliament has come under renewed scrutiny.
