BEHRAMPORE: When Irfan Pathan hits the ground, crowds go berserk – even if it’s a political pitch. So, when the former India pacer took to the streets here on Thursday to campaign for his elder brother and Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Yusuf Pathan, also a former India cricketer, fans gathered along his rally route in thousands.
Cricket enthusiasts tossed anything from bats to T-shirts at him, wanting them to be autographed as Irfan accompanied Yusuf on a six-km-long road show from Belda to Rejinagar.
And the dapper ex-cricketer —now popular as a commentator — dressed in a jeans, T-shirt and aviators, greeted them with a smile. Behrampore will vote on May 13.
At the end of the roadshow, he addressed a large gathering that waited for him. “
Mera bhai bolta kam hain par kaam zyada karta hai. Agar inko koi half volley ball karta hai toh yeh usko stand ke bahar pohocha deta hai. Aap inhain vote denge toh yeh aapka har kaam kar dega. Yeh Pathan ki zuban hai
(My brother talks less but works hard. If a ball is hurled at him in a half volley, he hits it out of the ground. If you vote for him, he will get all your work done. This is a Pathan’s word),” Irfan said.
Yusuf Pathan has rarely watched a cricket match this IPL season, not even that of KKR, a team he represented for over four years. Instead, the former India all-rounder — who has been a member of two World Cup winning squads — has been relentlessly touring the length and breadth of Behrampore from where he is contesting as the TMC candidate.
From rallies to road shows, from boosting confidence of party workers in meetings to collecting feedback from his social media team, Pathan is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the seat for the TMC which it has never won earlier.
This Lok Sabha constituency has, for the past two-decadeand-a-half, elected Adhir Chowdhury as its MP.
Chowdhury has been winning the Behrampore seat since 1999, two years before Pathan made his first-class cricket debut. He has announced he will quit politics if he loses the 2024 polls.
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