Dada Bats for Didi in Madrid: Sourav Ganguly Hails Ease of Business in Bengal, Announces 3rd Steel Plant

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got a pat on her back from former Indian skipper and BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly in Spain’s Madrid as the latter lauded the ease of doing business back home and announced his third steel factory in Bengal’s Medinipur.

“I would just like to thank Mamata didi. We will build our third steel plant in Bengal. A lot of us believe that I am only into sports but we started off with a small steel plant in 2007 and in 5-6 months, we will build a new steel plant in Medinipur. Let me tell you from my experience and not just because I am travelling with the chief minister that the entire process took just 4-5 months. So I want to thank them all,” Ganguly said.

Sources said the plant will be built in Salboni with an investment of Rs 2,500 crore.

Ganguly is known to share a good relationship with all political parties. During the Left era, he was close to urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya. Though the former cricketer enjoys a good bond with the TMC government too, there was buzz before the 2021 polls that he would align with BJP.

His proximity with BJP got another shot in the arm when Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Bengal icon in hospital and also enjoyed dinner at his residence.

However, despite the rumours, when Banerjee invited Ganguly for a programme last year to thank UNESCO for granting heritage status to Durga Puja, it was clear that the bond between the two Bengal icons was intact.

This time too, Dada accompanied Banerjee to Madrid and campaigned to bring investment for Bengal — much to the chief minister’s delight. “I am inviting everyone to come and see things for themselves. We have a synergy programme, which allows for clearance of projects under a single window. I am also very happy that the most popular club, La Liga, signed an MoU to set up an academy in West Bengal. Even Zara asked for 100 acres of land to set up their manufacturing units as we have textile and uninterrupted power supply. We have everything in Bengal and only want your affection. West Bengal is your home.”