After TMC Exit, Yusuf Pathan to Get Half of Contested Vadodara Plot Free, Pay for Rest

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Former India cricketer and MP Yusuf Pathan is set to win a plot of land he has pursued for 14 years, after the Gujarat government framed a settlement under which he will receive half of it free and pay for the rest. The decision comes just months after Pathan left the Trinamool Congress and aligned with the NDA.

The land, which measures around 1,000 square metres, lies next to the Pathan family home in Vadodara's Tandalja locality, where Yusuf and his brother Irfan live with their families and parents. The state administration has settled on a formula to end the long dispute. Half of the plot will go to Pathan as a gift from the state. He will pay a fixed amount, estimated at around Rs 10 crore, for the other half, NDTV reported, citing government sources.

The framework rests on special welfare policies meant for distinguished international sportspersons who have represented India from Gujarat. Under those guidelines, half the value of the plot will be absorbed by the state. The revenue and municipal departments have been tasked with carrying out the transfer. Local civic representatives noted that municipal assets are usually put up for open commercial auction, but exemptions under sports promotion guidelines permit a direct settlement of this kind.

Pathan's claim to the land goes back to 2012, when he sought a 99-year lease, citing security concerns as an international cricketer. Municipal proposals at the time leaned towards handing over the site for his residential security. Higher state authorities rejected the idea, however, holding that public property must be allotted through transparent public bidding. The plot stayed enclosed while the administrative and political situation around it kept changing.

The dispute turned sharper after Pathan won the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat on a Trinamool ticket in 2024. Soon after the result, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, which is run by the BJP, served him a notice to remove what it called an encroachment on the plot. Pathan challenged the notice in the high court.

The court later came down heavily on his occupation of the land, questioning how municipal land could be used without a final allotment or proper financial clearance. Facing stern warnings and the prospect of penalties, his lawyers unconditionally withdrew the pending appeals. That opened the way for the administration to revisit the matter and arrive at the present compromise.

The political backdrop has drawn attention. In June, soon after the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Pathan was among 20 Trinamool MPs who rebelled against Mamata Banerjee. They merged with the little-known NCPI and joined the NDA ranks in Parliament.

The authorities maintain that the decision honours Pathan's contribution to Indian cricket, though political observers questioned the timing as a sign of how quickly changing political equations can move administrative decisions that have been pending for years.

Pathan played his last One-Day International and T20 match for India in March 2012. He turned out for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL from 2011 to 2017.