Sourav Ganguly, Tollywood stars play match for Vaishali Dalmiya

In a rare moment, Sourav Ganguly, ex-Indian cricket team skipper and President of the Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) wielded the bat on a different pitch on Sunday evening as he played  a game of cricket for Vaishali Dalmiya, daughter of  the late cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya and Trinamool congress candidate from Bally. 

The match, featuring Tollywood stars like Jisshu Sengupta and Rituparna Sengupta(in an umpire’s role), was something that Dalmiya was looking forward to in her campaign. 

Ganguly played a six-over match as he led a team of cricketers against Tollywood stars headed by actor-producer-anchor Jisshu Sengupta. His team won the match. “Dada said that he is there for Bally. He promised to build a cricket academy and a stadium in Bally later”, Dalmiya told Millennium Post after the match held in Liluah. 

Umpiring part of the match was Tollywood star Rituparna Sengupta, a friend of Vaishali Dalmiya. Cricketer Manoj Tiwari, member of Ganguly’s team, was chosen ‘Man of the Match’. Vaishali Dalmiya’s teenage son also featured in Ganguly’s team. 

Trinamool Congres supremo Mamata Banerjee has already campaigned for Vaishali Dalmiya and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, another new candidate from Howrah North. 

Many factories in Liluah are facing a major crackdown and are shut since a long time. Vaishali Dalmiya, who has several years of experience in the boardroom, plans to revive some of these plants and set up new medium and small scale industries, if she is voted to power. 

Actively involved with Mission Ullas, an NGO working for the downtrodden of Bengal, she will also strive for the development of women in the area(Bally-Belur-Liluah).

In 2011, the Trinamool Congress wrested this seat from the CPI(M) which had won from this Assembly constituency thrice before. The CPI(M) has fielded Anjan Bera who will  face off with Vaishali Dalmiya in the upcoming polls.