Life came a full circle for Lalit Modi, when he lost the RCA election 13-18 to a bureaucrat who drew on the power of the entire state machinery.
Life came a full circle for Lalit Modi on Sunday, when he not unexpectedly lost the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) election 13-18 to a bureaucrat who drew on the power of the entire state machinery.
The result must have brought a feeling of déjà vu for Modi, who had dethroned the Rungtas from the RCA four years ago with the entire might of his mentor Vasundhara Raje behind him. BJP’s Raje was the then chief minister.
There was a touch of irony in Modi’s tale. IAS officer Sanjay Dixit, who was responsible for framing laws that had helped Modi become Rajasthan cricket’s undisputed king, is the man who will succeed him as the new president.
Dixit was once Modi’s right hand man. But the bureaucrat — whose aspirations of heading the RCA were nipped in the bud by Modi with the help of Raje — had become his sworn enemy a few years later. The victory is sweet revenge for the wily bureaucrat too.
But the ‘man of the match’ was, undoubtedly, Subhash Joshi, Modi’s erstwhile subaltern who emerged as the kingmaker by plotting the downfall of his mentor.
In many ways, Modi’s downfall was expected. He had always been the thorn in the flesh of the Congress, especially chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who always referred to him as an “extra Constitutional authority.” Modi was also accused of meddling in the affairs of the government because of his pal ‘Vasu.’
Since Raje lost the Assembly polls in December last year, the countdown for Modi’s decapitation had begun in relevant circles.
In another setback for the Modi camp, Ameen Pathan lost the election for the post of secretary 12-19 to Ashok Kumar Ohri, president of the Churu District Cricket Association.
Modi’s embarrassing exit from the RCA will have no bearing on his position in the BCCI as well as his role as the chairman and commissioner of the IPL. Also a vice-president of the Punjab Cricket Association, Modi held the state government responsible for his defeat. “I paid the price for being close to Vasundhara Raje. The state government did whatever it could to defeat me.
“But there will be no effect on IPL matches. They will be held in Jaipur only,” Modi said after the results were announced.
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