Run out by Dalmiya, Pawar points out: bowler, umpire, 3rd umpire one & same

Ranbir Singh Mahendra, one of Jagmohan Dalmiya’s five vice-presidents, edged out Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to the BCCI presidency. To Pawar, among India’s best-connected politicians, it was public humiliation barely a fortnight before the Maharashtra election.

The BCCI results will have zero influence on the Maharashtra electorate, but Pawar will have to live with the fact that he was out-thought, outmanoeuvred and, in the end, outvoted—15-16.

The casting vote that decided the winner? Dalmiya’s.

In fact, all the key posts for which elections were held went to his supporters: S K Nair (secretary), Gautam Dasgupta (joint secretary) and Jyoti Bajpai (treasurer).

It would be unfair to conclude that the Congress let Pawar down. All three institutional votes—Railways, Services (Defence Ministry) and Universities (HRD Ministry)—went to Pawar. The government was batting for its own, even if HRD Minister Arjun Singh is known to dislike Pawar.

‘‘The might of the state was behind Pawar,’’ said a state cricket association chief from Kolkata, ‘‘chief ministers canvassed for him. Narhari Amin, who has always backed Dalmiya, went over to Pawar.’’ Amin is a senior Congress politician in Gujarat and president of the state cricket body.

Where Pawar lost out was in poll management. He knew the rules, but the BCCI was not his turf. ‘‘Dalmiya has been playing this game for just too long,’’ exclaimed a senior cricket official.

Pawar also fell victim to an adroit information campaign by the Dalmiya-Arun Jaitley faction. The point was stressed that a section of the government, backed by disgruntled television companies, wanted to hijack the BCCI. Bizarrely, even the CPI(M) took an official position on the BCCI election, favouring Pawar.

This complete politicisation was unprecedented. Morally, it put Pawar on the backfoot.

The NCP leader’s conflicting statements on Sonia Gandhi and the feeling that 10 Janpath was hostile to him confused Congressmen. With so many conspiracy theories flying around, Pawar found himself besieged. In the end, it didn’t matter what Sonia thought of the cricket business, or if she thought about it at all. The damage was done.

That BCCI politics doesn’t strictly follow party lines was apparent when businessman Lalit Modi turned up in Kolkata, claiming to represent the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). Eventually, he was expelled in favour of RCA president P M Rungta’s nominee. Modi is known to be close to Zee Telefilms and to Rajasthan’s BJP chief minister, but in the BCCI, he was in Pawar’s corner.

On the other hand, the Congress-dominated Assam Cricket Association crossed over to the Dalmiya camp. Strangely, till early this morning an RSS ideologue was calling up BJP leaders, promoting Pawar’s cause.

In this crazy welter, doff your hat to Jagmohan Dalmiya, even if the fact that he voted four times today—as CAB chief, as National Cricket Club, Kolkata, chief, as outgoing president, as the man with the casting vote in case of a tie— it’s is a bit hair-raising.

He’s beaten Pawar. He’s outsmarted a grand alliance of politicians, business rivals and, of course, cricket administrators. He’s taken on the government and won. As one associate smirkingly put it, ‘‘Dalmiya’s doing a better job of the opposition than the BJP.’’

On this mad and murky day, one is almost tempted to agree.