Chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well as her political opponents made a beeline to a city hospital to enquire after the health of Sourav Ganguly, who was admitted there after a mild heart attack on Saturday.
“Sourav is stable now. He was lying on the bed and he asked me about my health,” Mamata told journalists after meeting the cricketer-turned-BCCI-chief.
“I thank the doctors for the kind of treatment they have provided to him,” the chief minister added.
When the news of Sourav’s illness broke on Saturday afternoon, several rumours had surfaced. It was a tweet by Mamata that confirmed that Sourav had suffered a mild heart attack.
“Sad to hear that @sganguly99 has suffered a mild cardiac arrest and has been admitted to hospital,” Mamata had posted on the microblogging site.
Sources said Union home minister Amit Shah called up BJP’s minder for Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya and requested him to offer Sourav’s family all possible help. Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, along with a BJP vice-president, Pratap Banerjee, went to the hospital.
“Amitji had also offered to take Dada to Delhi in an air ambulance if the situation so demanded. He had asked Kailashji to convey the offer to the family,” a BJP source said.
RS member Swapan Dasgupta outside the hospital. Bishwarup Dutta
Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar also arrived at the hospital with his wife.
On behalf of the CPM, Sujan Chakraborty, leader of the Left legislative party, visited the hospital.
The hospital visits came at a time speculation has been rife about whether Sourav would take the political plunge, especially after he met the governor and shared a platform with Shah at a cricket body event to honour the late Arun Jaitley in Delhi recently.
Trinamul politicians who visited the hospital included panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee, public works department minister Arup Biswas, urban development minister Firhad Hakim and junior sports minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla, himself a former cricketer. Trinamul MLA Vaishali Dalmiya was also present at the hospital.
Governor Dhankhar came out of the hospital with a smiling face and declared that he was relieved to see that the cricketer was all right.
Last Sunday, Sourav had met Dhankhar at Raj Bhawan. Sourav had described the visit as a courtesy call, adding that he had invited Dhankhar to visit Eden Gardens.
Wishes for Sourav’s speedy recovery have poured in on Twitter from across the world.
“Just got to know about your ailment Sourav. Hope each passing day brings you closer to a full and speedy recovery! Get well soon,” cricketing legend and contemporary Sachin Tendulkar tweeted.
“Praying for your speedy recovery. Get well soon @SGanguly99,” posted Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Jay Shah, home minister Shah’s son and BCCI secretary, tweeted: “I wish and pray for the speedy recovery of @SGanguly99. I’ve spoken to his family. Dada is stable and is responding well to the treatment.”
Virendra Sehwag, who had played for Team India under Sourav’s captaincy, tweeted: “Dada, jaldi se theek hone ka. Praying for your quick and speedy recovery @SGanguly99.”
