It seems cricket and politics in West Bengal are getting mixed once again.
Former Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) treasurer and joint secretary Biswarup Dey on Wednesday joined the Trinamool Congress.
Dey was former administrative manager of the BCCI during India's tour of Australia in 2015. He decided to join politics a day after India earned a historic win against Australia at Brisbane, known to have one of the fastest pitches in the world.
Dey is known in CAB circles as a strong opponent of Sourav Ganguly, the legendary cricketer and current BCCI chief. Dey once lodged a police complaint against Ganguly in 2019 for violating CAB rules by issuing accreditation card to a businessman.
Dey's induction appears to be a clear signal from the Trinamool Congress to Ganguly, who is speculated to be veering to joining the BJP.
Ganguly is now recuperating from a heart ailment at his home. Though he has till date not given any indication whether he would join the BJP, BJP sources said that Ganguly would join the party once he gets well.
"Yes, we want him. He is an able man and can play an important role in building the nation with [Prime Minister Narendra] Modiji," said a state vice president of BJP.
Just days before he fell sick, Ganguly had met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan and then flew to Delhi to meet Home Minister Amit Shah.
Neither side has disclosed what is in the offing. But with TMC's decision of inducting a man who is known to be Ganguly's baiter, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has lost all hopes on Ganguly.
Baishali Dalmia, daughter of late cricket boss Jagmohan Dalmia, also met Dhankhar and thereafter became very much vocal against TMC. Speculation is rife that Baishali would join the BJP when Amit Shah would visit the state later this month.
Baishali's brother, Abhishek, is currently president of the CAB and a close confidante of Ganguly. So it is now clear that like in the past, CAB would be dragged into politics if Ganguly makes up his mind and Baishali challenges Mamata.
The last time CAB came into political prominence was one-and-half decades back, when then chief minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee took the initiative to remove Dalmia from the president's post of CAB. After this incident, the Dalmia family became close to the TMC.
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Today, Dey would be the weapon for Mamata to checkmate Ganguly and anyone from Dalmia family if they decide to join the BJP.
The question then is will Ganguly put on hold his grand plan of jumping into politics or would rather play defensive? The BJP, on the other hand, would not like to see him go defensive, but rather play his favourite cover drive, which cardiologist Devi Shetty says he can do even today with a stent in his heart!
