Yusuf Pathan vs. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: The Battle for Prestige | Sadda Haq - Letter To My MP

The Lok Sabha Elections of 2024 have turned out to be a litmus test for the NDA & the INDIA bloc where the former is leaving no stones unturned to maintain the 3-time winning streak by winning greater no of seats this time and the latter is aiming to improve their abysmal performance by surpassing the majority mark with a huge mandate from the voters. To ensure that the winnability factor remains intact, most of the parties have brought in fresh faces to rebuild a new wave of trust, popularity and loyalty among voters while some have retained the old faces for their legacy that has remained unbroken for decades.

One such example that substantiates the above point is the case of Berhampore Lok Sabha Constituency where Trinamool Congress has nominated the iconic cricketer Yusuf Pathan as a candidate against Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress who has been holding this seat since 1999. As a matter of fact, both TMC & Congress are a part of the INDIA bloc on paper at the central level but simultaneously these 2 parties are contesting against each other in West Bengal which highlights the difference in their understanding at the state level.

But political experts feel that the Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency can turn out to be prestigious battleground for both TMC & Congress along with the candidates, because a win for Congress can help in improving their tally in West Bengal after failing to win even a single seat during the assembly elections from this region, while a win for TMC in this seat would change the political dynamics of Murshidabad as a whole. However, there are certain terms and conditions that must be kept in mind before coming to a conclusion that which party has the highest possibility of winning this seat in the 2024 elections. Is it TMC or Congress?

Firstly, Berhampore being a stronghold of Congress can favour Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury the most whose dominance over capturing the minority votes has tarnished the prospect of Trinamool to wrestle the seat away from him since 2014. Secondly Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been holding this seat for 25 years and voters believe that there are no other alternatives apart from him who can easily bring out solutions to the problems being faced by people of his constituency. Lastly the minority dominance characterises this constituency whose voting pattern over the last 10 years have shown a shift towards Congress because of BJP's Hindutva agenda and the appeasement politics by TMC.

As regards to the prospects of Trinamool Congress are concerned, Yusuf Pathan can help in splitting some votes from Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, where identity politics along with the personality of Pathan as a former cricketer for both India & KKR can influence voters to a considerable extent. If voters have decided to vote on the basis of these 2 criterias, then there will be a slight chance for Yusuf Pathan to wrestle this seat away from the Congress stalwart. But it’s easier said than done because Yusuf Pathan's entry into politics is new for him and he might lack political experience which is in stark contrast with the experience of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury because experienced politicians are known to have the guts to raise the voice of the deprived sections in the Parliament with hopes of getting remedial solutions. Secondly being a cricketer born in Gujarat, he is often viewed & tagged as an outsider who is unaware of the cultural atmosphere that prevails in Berhampore unlike Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who is considered to be a 'son' of Berhampore and is known for respecting the unique traditions of this place since he became the MP in 1999. Lastly for Trinamool Congress in general, their performance in the Berhampore constituency remained below their expectations since 2014 elections and even if they have decided to induct Yusuf Pathan to unleash a new era for the party, it still lacks considerable influence because of infighting among the grassroot leaders of the party and rising anger among minorites in the aftermath of Bogtui carnage & murder of Anis Khan.

With Politics being unpredictable in nature, anything can happen before voting begins in this Constituency on 13^th May which can come either as a boom or as a blessing to the contesting candidates of TMC & Congress. The final mandate can only be revealed when the EVM will be opened on 4^th June to decide the winner of Berhampore Constituency.