The Election Commission of India (ECI) has prohibited former Indian cricket player Yusuf Pathan, the All India Trinamool Congress candidate from Baharampur in West Bengal, from displaying photographs of the national flag and the Indian cricket team’s 2011 World Cup-winning moments during his Lok Sabha election campaign.
The action was taken a few days after Congress party filed a complaint against him, saying that he has broken the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by using images of Sachin Tendulkar and other celebrities for campaign purposes in Baharampur. The complaint was filed on 26th March (Tuesday).
According to sources within West Bengal’s chief electoral officer (CEO) office, the poll panel thoroughly examined the allegation and determined that it possessed merit. The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered, on 29th March (Friday), that Yusuf Pathan should take down all of these images and posters that were exhibited in the Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency. Additionally, he was asked by the ECI not to fly the national flag while running for office.
The election commission further stated that no political party should take advantage of the pride that every Indian felt in their country’s success in the 2011 World Cup in order to attract voters. Yusuf Pathan argued, however, that as he was a member of the victorious squad, he had every right to use photographs connected to the World Cup.
“I have a lot of followers who can put up my photographs of winning the World Cup anywhere. They have the right to do so. I have not gone anywhere to put up my posters. Now the legal team will see whether there is any violation. But I had won the World Cup through hard work,” the cricketer claimed on 28th March while talking to the media.
TMC workers began taking down the posters on Friday night, as instructed by the election panel. Yusuf Pathan played for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian squad that won the 2011 One Day International World Cup in India.
During the 2011 World Cup, Yusuf Pathan played in 6 matches, scoring 74 runs in the tournament at an average of 14.8, and took 1 wicket at a bowling average of 167.
The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee sought a severe penalty against Yusuf Pathan in a letter to the West Bengal CEO. They claimed that using banners and posters of the 2011 cricket World Cup winning team was a flagrant breach of the MCC. “This is to inform you that Yusuf Pathan has started using banners, posters and photos in different places in the said constituency. It clearly depicts the ICC Cricket World Cup (2011) winning moments and high profile cricket celebrities including the likes of Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar and others,” the party charged.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the president of the West Bengal Congress and the party’s candidate for Baharampur, said that Yusuf Pathan was exploiting such images to portray the victory of the national cricket team as his personal achievement. The fourth of the seven polling phases for the Lok Sabha elections of 2024 is scheduled to take place in Baharampur on 13th May. 4th June is when the results will be announced.
