Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that whenever former Indian skipper and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stepped out of the crease, it was sure that he would hit a six, similarily, the BJP has crossed the crease and will surely hit a six in upcoming polls and form the government in West Bengal. "Whenever Sourav Ganguly crossed the crease, it was sure that he would hit a six. Likewise, with your support in Lok Sabha, we have crossed the crease and surely we will hit a six in Assembly polls and form BJP government here," said the Union Minister while addressing a public meeting here.

These comments come at a time when speculation is rife over Ganguly joining BJP ahead of the polls. Earlier today, the Defence Minister had said the BJP will form the government in West Bengal with a clear majority.

"The numbers in 2019 Lok Sabha polls is an indication of the change that is going to happen in Bengal with the upcoming state Legislative Assembly election," Singh said. Asked if going to elections without a Chief Minister candidate face will cause a loss to the BJP, he said, "No. Ours is a democratic party. The elected MLAs will choose their leader."

Elections to 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.