Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on Bengal tour. He arrived for dinner at the residence of former Team India captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly in Kolkata on Friday evening. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari was also present during this. Thus began a period of speculation. Ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections last year, there was a stir in the political circles that BJP wants to rope in the former cricketer to take on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. However, this did not happen.
Let us inform that Amit Shah’s program to go to Ganguly’s house was made suddenly. Earlier, at an event at the Victoria Memorial, Ganguly’s wife Dona Ganguly gave a dance performance in the ‘Mukti-Matrika’ program of the Union Ministry of Culture. The Home Minister then went to Ganguly’s residence in Behala where a dinner was hosted for him.
Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at Ganguly’s house in a white SUV surrounded by bodyguards. A crowd of people had gathered on the road outside to see Amit Shah sitting in the front seat and he greeted the people with folded hands. Shah was then seen at the dinner table with Ganguly and his family members.
The 49-year-old Ganguly told reporters that the dinner should not be seen with politics. He said that he has known Amit Shah for more than a decade and has met him several times. “We have a lot to talk about,” he said. I have known him since 2008. We used to meet when I used to play. Didn’t meet a lot because I used to be on tour.” He said, “I work with his son. It’s an old association.”
What will be the menu of the meal? To this Mr. Ganguly smiled and replied, “…will go home and see. He is a vegetarian.” This is not the first time that Ganguly has refused to see the meeting with Amit Shah as political. After his meeting with Amit Shah ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections early last year, he had said that he would not join the BJP. The speculation about Ganguly joining the BJP was first raised in 2015. Since then this happens before every major election in Bengal. It is associated with Dada (Sourav Ganguly) vs Didi (Mamata Banerjee).