Lok Sabha Elections: Former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who kick-started his election campaign for West Bengal’s Baharampur Lok Sabha seat on Thursday, expressed his excitement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Thursday and said that he is as excited as he was for his first World Cup match.
Pathan is Trinamool Congress's candidate from the Berhampore. He said that Gujarat is his 'Janmabhoomi' and Bengal is his 'Karmabhoomi'.
The former cricketer said that he will be working towards increasing the outreach of the silk factory in Murshidabad and establishing a sports academy.
"Language is not a barrier. I am excited, like I was in my first World Cup match. Khela Hobe. Jai Bangla. I'm not an outsider. People's love and your ability to work allow you to contest from anywhere. I will work towards increasing the global outreach of the silk factory in Murshidabad. There's no sports academy here, I'll establish one here. Gujarat is my 'Janmabhoomi', Bengal is my 'Karmabhoomi'," Pathan said.
Currently, the Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, represents Berhampore constituency in the Lower House.
Yusuf Pathan also said that the field of politics is very different, but the expectations of the people are the same. "The field is very different, but the expectations of the people remain the same- that I work for them, and carry forward the work done by my team (TMC)... Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary has been a 5-time MP but times change, and change happens for good," the former cricketer said.
The former cricketer also responded to the 'outsider' tag and said, “I don’t think I am an outsider here. Do you think that I am an outsider? The biggest example is our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is from Gujarat, but he contests elections from Varanasi. So what is the problem if I contest from here?”.