By BrandsShouts The Brand Ambassador Of West Bengal is Sourav Ganguly. Many of you must have thought that, unlike other states in the country, there must not be an officially appointed brand ambassador for West Bengal, right? But in reality, Sourav Ganguly has been officially signed for this role by none other than the chief minister of West Bengal. The main aim of this action was to bring more tourism to the state and promote it on a national scale, and over the years, we have already seen this strategy working quite a lot. And why shouldn’t it? After all, Sourav Ganguly has been a popular face in cricket, and you already know the popularity of cricket in India.
Historical Background
Until the year 2011, West Bengal did not have a brand ambassador at all. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee created this position with the aim of attracting more tourists and businesses. The first very campaign was in 2012 when the decision was made that Shah Rukh Khan, a Bollywood actor, was the best choice. Besides his fame, the fact that he belongs to the Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL cricket team, has created a great synergy with him to give the state proper exposure.
During 2022, the BJP had been talking about sourcing Sourav Ganguly rather than Shah Rukh Khan. The whole deal had different political factors coexisting. Apart from that, over the period, several characters were assigned similar roles; for example, the decision was made to utilize actor Dev to make tourism popular.
Current Brand Ambassador
On November 21, 2023, at the 7th Bengal Global Business Summit, Sourav Ganguly was declared the new brand ambassador of West Bengal by Mamata Banerjee. Ganguly, who was the captain of India’s cricket team and president of the BCCI, is an internationally celebrated personality who has had a long association with the state. Treasurer of the West Bengal government, Arup Roy, has stated that Ganguly has inherited the brand ambassador position from Shah Rukh Khan, but no statement has been made about the latter. During the event, Ganguly took the baton and expressed how the government is dedicated to making investments and marketing the state.