Sourav Ganguly Dismisses Claims Of Asking Yousuf Pathan To Resign As MP On Mamata Banerjee's Behalf

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly dismissed reports claiming that he had contacted Yusuf Pathan on behalf of Mamata Banerjee and conveyed a message asking him to resign from his position as the elected representative of his constituency to facilitate her contesting a forthcoming by-election from the seat.

Ganguly said the allegations were completely false and urged the media not to be influenced by rumours or speculation. He clarified that the claims regarding his involvement in any such communication were untrue.

“It was alleged that I had contacted Mr Yusuf Pathan on behalf of Mamta Banerjee, the former Chief Minister of West Bengal and had carried her message that he should step down/resign from his Constitutional post as the elected representative of the aforesaid constituency in order to enable Ms Banerjee to contest the ensuing by-elections from the said constituency. The aforesaid allegations are untrue,” he said, according to ANI.

He was responding to claims made in a media report on June 4.

Ganguly added,“I have never been involved in political matters at any stage with any one concerned.”

Documents show MLAs attending meeting at Mamata's residence

Meanwhile, a new development emerged on Saturday in the contest for leadership of the TMC legislature party after documents allegedly linked to two meetings of party MLAs at Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence surfaced on social media. The documents prompted rebel Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee to raise questions about their authenticity.

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The records relate to meetings reportedly held on May 6 and May 19, during an intensifying struggle for control of the opposition space in the West Bengal Assembly following the TMC's defeat in the 2026 state elections.

As per the documents, 67 MLAs attended the May 6 meeting at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street. The attendance sheet reportedly contained legislators' signatures along with their constituency names and the meeting date.

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While most MLAs signed in either Bengali or English, some names appeared in block letters. Those listed in block letters included Subhasis Das, Chandranath Sinha, Dinen Roy and Baharul Islam, as per the documents, according to PTI.

The documents described the May 6 gathering as a meeting called to elect the leader of the opposition, deputy leader, and chief whip of the TMC legislature party.

According to the records, former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim chaired the meeting, during which a proposal to elect the legislature party leader was unanimously endorsed by the MLAs present.

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The papers also claimed that legislators who were unable to attend had communicated their support for the proposal. A separate set of documents related to the May 19 meeting reportedly contained the signatures of 59 TMC legislators.

The surfacing of these records has added a new dimension to the ongoing power struggle between the Mamata Banerjee camp and the rebel faction. Both sides remain embroiled in a fierce dispute over the legitimacy of competing claims to lead the party's legislature wing, a conflict that has already extended to the Assembly and investigative agencies.

(LiveMint couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the claim)

The dispute revolves around allegations that the signatures of certain MLAs were forged in documents submitted to the Assembly Speaker amid the battle for control of the opposition bloc's leadership.

Earlier, MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandeepan Saha lodged complaints with Assembly authorities, accusing individuals of forgery. Following the allegations, the state government handed over the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department.

As part of the ongoing probe, the agency has already obtained handwriting samples from several legislators for examination.

Responding to the emergence of the documents, Banerjee said the issue was currently under investigation and declined to comment further on the matter.

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