This is one power play that doesn't end after five overs. The grip that leaders from across the political spectrum have gained over the country's cricketing boards could be craftier than Shane Warne ever managed in the course of his career.
Be it the Congress, the BJP or their regional rivals, every political formation worth its salt has a finger in the cricketing pie. Most of them can't tell a chinaman from a googly, yet they preside over state cricketing boards with aplomb.
Let's take Sharad Pawar for example. The Maratha strongman is the face of the cricket- politics alliance.
While no one knows if he can bat or bowl, he did juggle his varied roles of Union agriculture minister and BCCI president with a lot of tact. "Even though he is a minister, his priority remains cricket," says an associate.
"The BCCI position gave him national and international standing. And he is aiming big. It is no coincidence that he will be the ICC president by the time the 2011 World Cup is played in India." Indeed, cricket and politics have gone hand-in-hand for Pawar. He became the chief minister of Maharashtra only after taking over the reins of the Garware Club House.
For old time's sake, he remains the honorary president of the club. "It was his lucky charm," adds his aide. One of Pawar's trusted lieutenants, Lalit Modi, used his political links to graduate from the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) to the BCCI, then to IPL and ultimately to the world stage. His proximity to the then Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is a well-known fact. Lalit Modi used the Raje card to bring a contentious 'sports ordinance' in 2005, using which he bowled out Kishore Rungta in the RCA elections. But he didn't account for the discontent this would cause not only in the association but also in the state government. An IAS officer, Sanjay Dixit, ousted him from the RCA in elections held earlier this year.
The BCCI vice-president is far from done, however.
Rebels linked with him split the RCA into two on Sunday and "sacked" Dixit.
Still more interesting is the coup that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi orchestrated this week by capturing the cash-rich Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) and overthrowing long-standing president Narhari Amin.
As Narendra Modi lengthened his foray into state cricket, murmurs have grown louder that he is hoping to gradually gain control of the national board as well.
The man with the taint of the 2002 Gujarat riots has been working on an image makeover for some time.
Following the BJP's general elections debacle, cricket could be just the means to keep Modi in the national limelight - and for all the right reasons.
Not all forays are successful. Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee courted former India captain Sourav Ganguly some three years ago, believing this would yield him tons of votes. The communist leader was convinced, reportedly by people close to Sourav, that Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya should be removed. The CM chose Kolkata Police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee to contest the elections before publicly lambasting Dalmiya for his "failures". But if Buddha believed all this would help the CPM make inroads in the minds of young Bengalis, it didn't happen.
Several of his own partymen, including his predecessor Jyoti Basu and some Cabinet colleagues, carped Buddha for getting involved in cricket politics. His candidate won in 2006, but Dalmiya returned to the CAB's presidency earlier this year. And the CPM - with or without Sourav - went for a six in the general elections. Buddha, who once played cricket himself, now rarely even talks about the sport.
Never one to be left behind, RJD president Lalu Prasad took over the reins of Bihar cricket eight years ago. During his chief ministership in the 1990s, Patna had played host to two one-day internationals. That was pretty much all Lalu could show as his cricketing credentials, yet he was "elected unopposed" to the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA)' s presidency in 2001.
It was a crucial time in Lalu's career. He had been forced to give up chief ministership in the wake of the fodder scam. And Bihar had been divvied up just months earlier. His confidants apparently told him about the glamour of cricket and cited the examples of high- profile politicians like Madhavrao Scindia, Pawar and Arun Jaitley who headed the cricket administration of their states. Lalu saw no harm.
Some believe he also took over the BCA to further the careers of his two sons, Tej Pratap and Tejaswi Yadav, who had shown sparks of talent. At one of his rallies in later years, Lalu even introduced them as cricketers "who have no political ambitions whatsoever". But even if the sons took to cricket for the love of the game - their father, and many of his ilk, are driven very much by political ambition, and cricket's promise of power and publicity, when they open their innings.
source :- http://indiatoday.intoday.in/
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