Close on the heels of the BJP offering a lok Sabha ticket to Sourav Ganguly, the Congress on Sunday set about to hunt down the Bengal Tiger with PCC president Pradip Bhattacharya descending at the former Team India captain’s residence with spread out hands.
While Bhattacharya claimed “it was a mere courtesy call and I did not talk politics” sources claimed there were definite instructions from Delhi that Bhattacharya, a Rajya Sabha member, was following when he came calling at the stylish southpaw’s Behala residence. “It is not a significant meeting as it is a courtesy call,” the PCC president who has seldom rubbed shoulders with the India cricket icon said insisting there was “no proposal from my side about politics. It purely depends upon Ganguly as to whether he wants to join politics or not.”
According to sources while the BJP — which also offered Sourav a ministerial berth — gave him the choice of contesting from safer places like Delhi or Gujarat, the Congress was planning to set aside a seat for him either in North Bengal or Birbhum where the party had better organisational capabilities. But insiders said that Ganguly had successfully repulsed the overtures convincing the Congress about his deficient interests in political ‘Dadagiri’ so to say. “Sourav is doing pretty good in commentating, has a tight schedule ahead. He will be happy to do whatever he can for the cause of cricket but he knows that politics is not his cup of tea,” a close friend and a former Bengal cricketer said adding quickly however “it is finally his decision.”
The 41-year-old former cricketer who had been known for playing “inside out” and “lofted shots” for a change relied on the game of cards playing things close to his chest. “It is an important decision and very big one too. I have not decided on it as yet. I will still take some time to ponder over it,” he said.
Curiously Bhattacharya and his Congress were not only the ones to be stumped by the BJP offer to the Prince of Kolkata. In fact the former leftist rulers of Bengal also tended to betray some nerves after the left hander usually known for his leftist leanings conceded that he had indeed been approached by the saffron leadership with ticket offer and that he had taken some time to ponder over the issue.
Sources said the first among the left leaders to SMS his astonishment to Ganguly over the issue was a former State Minister and close friend from North Bengal.