A day after hosting Union Home Minister Amit Shah over dinner at his Kolkata residence, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly on Saturday, 7 May, said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – a fierce opponent of the Bharatiya Janata Party – is "very close" to him, reported NDTV.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of a private hospital in Kolkata, Ganguly said, "Our honorable Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a person very close to me. I had approached her to help up this institute."
Ganguly's praise for the West Bengal chief minister comes after his dinner with Shah – who he said is an acquaintance of 14 years – had set off a bevy of speculations around his possible entry into politics.