The Lok Sabha contest in West Bengal that generated the most interest this time was in Baharampur where former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan defeated Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury by more than 80,000 votes. Many observers say Adhir is synonymous with Baharampur. He has won the seat five times and was undefeated, till now. Adhir is known as the bête noire of Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress insiders say it is because of him that the West Bengal chief minister did not have an alliance with the Congress in the state.
TMC sources say that as Adhir constantly attacked Mamata, Trinamool planned to defeat him in Baharampur by fielding Yusuf Pathan there. According to them, this was a big gamble by Trinamool and was the idea of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Pathan is a popular face and also from the Muslim community, which forms half of the electorate in Baharampur.
Adhir fought hard but lost his bastion. “I accept my defeat. The people have not voted for me. What can I do? Even Indira Gandhi lost an election,” he said.
While campaigning, Adhir once said that if defeated, he would leave politics. Observers say it is difficult for him to continue with the Congress given its abysmal condition in Bengal.
After the verdict, Yusuf Pathan said, “I want to thank everyone and TMC. I will stay here and work for the people of Baharampur.”
Why Adhir lost
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was fighting this election as a lone warrior. He repeatedly said that he did not have the money and muscle power required to contest the election. It was only Adhir fighting against the TMC’s strategies, campaigning, and celebrity status of Yusuf Pathan.
Also, the Congress did not pay attention to Adhir’s fight. None of the top leaders turned up to campaign for him. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge did take part in electioneering in Bengal but not for Adhir.
Sources from Adhir’s camp say the top leaders were more interested in appeasing TMC than standing by him.
Muslims in Baharampur had always voted for Adhir. But this time Yusuf Pathan appealed to them more, as a celebrity and “one of their own”, observers said.
The Hindu votes largely went to BJP’s Dr Nirmal Saha, a popular local surgeon.
What worked for Pathan
The celebrity factor and minority pull went in favour of Yusuf Pathan in the Baharampur battle.
Abhishek Banerjee and his team worked hard on strategies for Pathan. The TMC general secretary himself monitored this seat closely.
Pathan’s image is that of a good person who has not given any controversial statements and only did what the TMC asked him to.
TMC insiders say this is a big win for the party because it wanted to puncture the myth and ego of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
After the results, Mamata Banerjee said, “Adhir is BJP’s man. The people rejected his arrogance. I congratulate Yusuf Pathan.”
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