A senior CPI (M) leader Ashok Bhattacharya has claimed in a statement that current BCCI President and former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been under pressure to join politics.

The statement has created a storm, especially due to its timing, as Ganguly is in a hospital after undergoing an angioplasty after suffering a heart attack on January 2 while working out at his home. He was diagnosed with three blocked arteries and is expected to undergo another angioplasty.

Speculations were rife of Ganguly joining BJP ahead of the Bengal state assembly elections due in April-May this year. Ganguly had also met West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan, a week back "in a courtesy visit".

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"Some people wanted to use Ganguly politically. That probably exerted pressure on him. He is not a political element. He should be known as Sourav the sporting icon," Bhattacharya, the BCCI president's longtime family friend, said.

“We should not create pressure on him (for joining politics). I had told Sourav last week he should not join politics and he did not oppose my views," he further said.

Reacting to Bhattacharya’s remarks, Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, “Some people see politics in everything due to their sick mindset. Like millions of his fans, we only wish that Sourav recovers fully."

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Ganguly's former teammate and state minister Lakshmi Ratan Shukla, TMC MLA and daughter of late BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, Baishali Dalmiya, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, and several others also visited him.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar also visited Ganguly on Saturday to inquire about his health.

(PTI inputs)