CP Joshi pips Ruchir Modi to head Raj Cricket Association

Congress leader CP Joshi was on Friday declared elected as the president of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). He defeated 22-year-old Ruchir Modi, son of former RCA president and IPL chief Lalit Modi.

Joshi got 19 of total 33 votes, while Modi got the rest. Joshi’s victory makes an interesting political case as for the first time in last five RCA elections that a candidate who is not affiliated to the ruling party has been successful at the polls. In fact state BJP president congratulated Joshi for his victory.

This is a second coming for Joshi as he had defeated Lalit Modi and led the association from 2009-13.

The victory of Joshi has several political implications. It signals chief minister Vasundhara Raja has chosen to end the Lalit Modi association, which has been a political baggage for the party.

Grapevine has it that a Lalit baiter BJP heavyweight too played his hand in keeping Ruchir Modi out of the RCA.

This victory also ushers hope within the congress party as it signals a rare victory in any form for them. If joshi can get cricket back on track, which is a daunting task he and his party they can take claim of getting work back on track.

The win also gives Joshi to be relevant in the political scenario in the state, which he might have been looking for quite a long time. Joshi, who also is AICC general secretary, has been away from state and looking after party’s affair in many states as incharge.

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Ramachandra Guha, historian and a member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) to oversee the functioning of the BCCI, has said he was forced to resign from the panel, as the CoA was a silent spectator on conflict of issues regarding MS Dhoni and Sunil Gavaskar as well as being a ‘mute’ spectator to the Anil Kumble-Virat Kohli ‘rift’. Guha also pointed out the failure to treat domestic players at par with India players.

In his resignation letter to the head of CoA, Vinod Rai, Guha has also lashed out at former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who he feels is a classic example of conflict of interest. “Sunil Gavaskar is head of a company which represents Indian cricketers while commenting on those cricketers as part of the BCCI TV commentary panel. This is a clear conflict of interest. Either he must step down/withdraw himself from PMG completely or stop being a commentator.

Guha quit within five months of being appointed a member of the CoA. He said the BCCI had given preferential treatment to MaS Dhoni by awarding him a Grade A contract. “Unfortunately, this superstar syndrome has distorted the system of Indian team contracts.”

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