The BJP had been on a celebrity hunt in West Bengal ahead of the party's ambitious brigade rally, which was addressed by Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly was on the radar and the party had hoped he would make an appearance in Modi's rally. Unfortunately for the party, Ganguly refused the offer to join the saffron party in the first place. Apart from the BJP's recent catch, singer Bappi Lahiri, the other local celebrity who shared the stage was magician P C Sorcar. During an informal conversation a state BJP leader made the dry observation that "we hoped to produce magic with the presence of Sourav Ganguly, but at least we managed to get a magician."