New Delhi: Cricketer turned politician Yusuf Pathan On Saturday rejected reports which claimed that the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee Either directly or through Sourav Ganguly, he was asked to resign from his Lok Sabha seat to pave the way for contesting the by-election.In a video shared on social media, Pathan termed the reports as “completely false” and said that neither the former West Bengal chief minister nor any other party leader had ever discussed such a proposal with her.Pathan said, “For some time now, a news has been going viral in which it is being claimed that Mamata Banerjee has asked me to resign from my MP seat, Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency, so that she can contest elections from there.”He said, “Mamata Banerjee never spoke to me on this matter. This claim is completely false. Therefore, neither Mamata Banerjee nor any party leader has asked me to resign from my MP seat.”This clarification comes amid ongoing speculation over the Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency and reports that efforts are being made to pave the way for Mamata to enter Parliament through the by-election.Following these reports, rumors gained momentum that TMC had reportedly sought the help of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly to convince Pathan to vacate the seat. Speculations intensified over Mamata’s political future after her electoral setback against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in the West Bengal Assembly elections.Earlier, Ganguly had also strongly refuted the claims and said that reports linking him to any such efforts were false.In a statement, Ganguly said it is alleged that he contacted Pathan on Mamata’s behalf and gave him a message asking him to “step down/resign from his constitutional post as the elected representative” of the constituency to enable him to contest the by-election.Ganguly said, “The above allegations are false.”Calling the reports irresponsible, he said it was “extremely unfortunate” that no effort was made by Mamata to verify the allegations before publication. He further said that the claims related to him were made with “disregard for the truth”. Ganguly also categorically denied acting as a mediator for the TMC chief. He said, “Thus it is necessary to put on record that Ms. Mamata Banerjee had never requested/asked me to convey any of her messages to Mr. Yusuf Pathan.”