He is known to be close to the Left leaders in the state,at times lending his voice to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjees industrialisation efforts. Understandably,when Sourav Ganguly turned up at a function and shared the dais with Bhattacharjees chief rival and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday,he got the Trinamool Congress excited. The occasion was the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Satyajit Ray Railway Stadium,which replaces the Railway Stadium at Behala,the former Indian cricket captains home turf. Ganguly was careful with his words as he thanked the Railways for the initiative. I stay nearby and I visited this stadium for the first time 10 years ago. I used to train here. I am happy this place is being developed into an indoor and outdoor stadium. I congratulate the Railways authorities, he said. Although he might have disappointed political observers,who were watching him closely and possibly expected spicy quotes from him,Mamatas party workers were not complaining. For the Trinamool Congress leaders,Ganguly accepting the invitation to share the same platform as their leader a move that has surprised many here was enough. According to sources in the Trinamool,the party is happy to see Ganguly rubbing shoulders with the Railway Minister. Sourav Ganguly has agreed to attend the ceremony. As a leading sportsperson in India and also internationally,we will be happy if he shares the dais for the noble cause, Trinamool leader Mukul Roy had told The Indian Express on Wednesday. Another senior leader said: This was for the first time that he (Ganguly) shared the stage with our leader. He added that Mamata was also willing to help out Ganguly in any sports project,which the cricketer wanted for the betterment of the state. Gangulys association with the CPM leaders is well-known,although he has so far kept away from active politics. Last year,Ganguly had made efforts to help the Chief Minister in his industrialisation efforts by appealing to the Tatas to set up a factory in Singur the project that was scrapped after Mamatas vehement opposition. In 2004,Ganguly also agreed to promote the state as an investment destination,apart from being a brand ambassador of states tea and IT industries. Also,there was controversy after the state government allotted nearly an acre of land to Ganguly in Salt Lake for setting up a school. We know that he is close to the state government. But he has always denied being a part of politics with the CPM, said a Trinamool leader. However,in recent months,after the CPMs worst electoral debacle,Ganguly distanced himself from the party. At the function,Mamatas speech too was focused on the stadium. Apart from outdoor facilities,the stadium will have indoor facilities too. Besides sports,cultural events will also take place here. Once completed,the stadium will house 25,000 spectators and will be a state-of-the-art project, she said. She also announced a museum-cum-gallery in Satyajit Rays name.
