TMC goes solo: Hello, new faces everywhere!

On Sunday, the TMC released the list of candidates for all 42 West Bengal Lok Sabha seats. numerous incumbent MPs were dropped, while numerous new candidates, including former cricket players Yusuf Pathan and Kriti Azad, were added. 12 women were fielded by the party, which also nominated 16 current MPs. Yusuf Pathan, a cricket player, will run for the Lok Sabha seat in Baharampur, while Kirti Aazd will represent the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency. Additionally, the TMC put forth Mahua Moitra, the expelled Lok Sabha MP, for a second straight term in the Krishnanagar seat.

The Congress indicated on Sunday that it is ready to forming an alliance till the nominations are withdrawn, shortly after the TMC announced candidates for every West Bengal Lok Sabha seat. The Congress also insisted that any deal must be reached via discussions rather than by making snap decisions. At a public event in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister and leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Mamata Banerjee, revealed the names of 42 candidates running for the state’s Lok Saba election. Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress, commented on the situation, saying, “Our doors are always open and an alliance can happen anytime before withdrawal.”

I have a new task, says Yusuf.
Mamata Banerjee and Yusuf Pathan have a long history together, according to Pathan. “I’ve known Didi for over ten years. She attended an Eden Gardens celebration honoring the 2012 IPL champion Kolkata Knight Riders squad. I’ve been speaking with Didi and Abhishek Banerjee for the last three days. I persuaded myself to enter politics, and this morning [Sunday] I arrived in Kolkata. I thought about it for a while,” Yusuf said around midday. The squad member that won the World T20 in 2007 will compete from Berhampore. “I haven’t been there. I have to go out and ask people to cast their votes for me. It’s a fresh task, Yusuf said. He went back to Sri Lanka to compete in a competition for veterans.