Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly recently met with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her office in Nabanna, igniting a flurry of speculation within the state's political corridors. According to sources, Ganguly conversed with the Trinamool Congress chief for about half an hour.
The timing of the meeting has drawn particular attention, coming just before the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates. However, Ganguly has not yet indicated whether he plans to enter politics.
Last September, Ganguly made headlines when he accompanied Mamata Banerjee to Spain for an investors' summit. There were rumors that he might join the Trinamool Congress, but the former cricketer denied such speculation, stating that he is 'just an ordinary person, not a legislator or MP' and has no ties to politics.
In a curious twist, Ganguly had a separate meeting last month with Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar at Apollo Hospital in Salt Lake. The hospital visit was incidental, as Majumdar was injured during a protest against the Sandeshkhali issue, and coincidentally, Ganguly's mother was also hospitalized there. Following the visit, political conjecture rippled through Bengal once more.
Adding fuel to the political fire were rumors from 2022 suggesting that Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Ganguly's Kolkata residence, leading to whispers of Ganguly joining BJP. Yet, Ganguly had quashed the rumors at the time. With West Bengal holding 42 Lok Sabha seats, the last general election in 2019 saw TMC secure 22 seats, BJP 18, and Congress a mere two.
