Sourav Ganguly (File)A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah had dinner at his Kolkata residence, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Saturday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is “very close” to him and she was always there whenever he needed any help.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of a private hospital in the city which was attended by state minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, the former Team India skipper said, “Even Bobby da (Hakim) has always responded to me whenever I call him. I don’t need to say it again but he is always available for the people. He helps people all the time.”
Sourav’s wife Dona Ganguly, who was also present on the occasion, said, “It (Amit Shah’s) was a courtesy visit. There was no political discussion. If something happens then people will get to know about it. I don’t know whether Sourav will join politics. But if he does, he will definitely work for people. He does a lot of work for the people even now.”
During his visit to Ganguly’s house, Shah, whose whose son Jay Shah is honorary secretary in the BCCI, was accompanied by BJP leaders Amit Malviya, Swapan Dasgupta, state party president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.
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Ganguly has always been liked by political leaders cutting across political parties. He was also close to former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Also, before the 2021 state Assembly elections, there were rumours that he may be BJP’s chief ministerial face but that did not happen.
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