Sourav Ganguly, who is also set to be the next chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday sought to dispel speculations about joining politics following his meeting with BJP President and Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.
The two had met on Sunday evening hours before the former India captain's name pipped Brijesh Patel to become the front-runner for the BCCI top job. Shah's son Jay Shah will be the BCCI secretary in Sourav Ganguly's team. Asked if he would be joining the BJP, Sourav told reporters in Kolkata on Tuesday evening that there was no quid pro quo in his meeting with Shah.
"Not once he (Shah) has said 'We'll do this for doing that' and you've got to give respect to that," according to Sourav. Indicating that nothing political might come of his meeting with Shah, Sourav said "I've heard these political questions before also, when I met Mamata Didi, the Chief Minister, and you've seen the results". Terming this first meeting with Shah "special and different," Sourav said "neither have I asked a question on what's going to happen to BCCI... if I'm going to get a post or not. Neither any discussion of that sort happened that you'll only get this if you agree to that. So there's nothing of political development".
Amit Shah made a similar assertion in an interview to India Today. "There has been no such deal or talks with him. It is just bad-mouthing against Sourav Ganguly," he said.
With fresh assembly elections in West Bengal due in 2021, Shah's meeting with Sourav, a popular cricketer, has triggered speculation. The BJP, which won 18 of Bengal's 42 seats in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, is hoping to make inroads in the state-level elections as well.
There is speculation that the BJP is hoping that Sourav Ganguly as the chief of BCCI is a step in the right direction, winning the hearts of the people of the state.