Will BCCI President Sourav Ganguly formally join the BJP this month in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi? Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh’s response has further deepened the mystery surrounding Ganguly’s political ambitions.
“I have no idea about it, nor has there been any discussion in the meeting,” Ghosh was quoted by news agency ANI. He was reacting to rumours on whether the former India captain will be joining BJP during PM Modi’s 7 March rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in West Bengal.
Speculations are rife in Kolkata over Ganguly planning to attend the Brigade rally of PM Modi on 7 March. According to a report by news agency PTI, BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya told reporters in Kolkata that if the former captain considered sharing the stage with PM Modi, then he was most welcome.
“We know Sourav is under rest at home. If he considers attending the meeting, health and weather conditions permitting, he will be most welcome. If he is present, we think he will like it. The crowd will also like that. But we don’t know. It is for him to decide,” Mr Bhattacharya was quoted as saying.
Ganguly was recently in the news after he faced plenty of backlash from fans for endorsing Arnab Goswami’s Republic Bangla TV channel. In a video, Ganguly could be seen wishing success to Goswami’s Republic Bangla TV. He had said, “A lot of good wishes to Republic TV. They are coming to Bengal for the first time,” Ganguly said in a video message. He continued, “Good wishes to Arnab too. I am told that their tagline is ‘will talk looking in your eyes.’ It feels good every time something new comes to Bengal. One more good Bengali TV has arrived.”
Ganguly, former Indian cricket captain of repute, also had to face public ridicule after he praised PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah for the construction of the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
Last year, Ganguly had caused quite a flutter after he stunned everyone by arriving at the Governor’s house in Kolkata for an unscheduled meeting. Governors in India are BJP workers before they are appointed to hold constitutional posts just like the Congress appointed its own functionaries to this role in the past.
Days later, Ganguly was seen sharing a stage with Amit Shah to unveil a statue of late BJP leader Arun Jaitley at the cricket stadium in Delhi. While Ganguly is the president of the Indian cricket board, Amit Shah’s son, Jay Shah, is the secretary of the board.
Ganguly has not reacted to speculations of him joining the BJP ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, scheduled to be held in eight stages starting 27 March.