Jagmohan Dalmiya: The Enemy within the State?

Back in the Fray

This must come as a blow to the administration at the helm of the BCCI. The man they fought ruthlessly again is back at the helm of affairs and this could be a knock out clash.

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Conflicts over differing opinions are one thing. But the Sharad Pawar lobby to remove the presence of a stronghold that is the Dalmiya camp suffered a blow when Jagmohan Dalmiya was re elected to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) as president. The move was seen significantly as an attempt for Bengal to establish its own administrative set up irrespective of the centre’s interests in destabilizing the popular man for the job.

While Dalmiya says he owes it to his supporters to clear his name and stand for the elections, it is hard to imagine that a man who once ran things the Asian way for the ICC would shun the opportunity for power if a second opportunity came along. If anything, it would also be the perfect launch pad to strike back. Yet again, cricket could well get caught between the jostling for political power and one can only wait and see how this one pans out.

Dalmiya would have been reelected last year itself. But the process of clearing his name against the allegations leveled against him and being expelled for misappropriation of funds and financial irregularities took its time enough to ensure he could do little to plan his comeback. While he has been absent, Bengal suffered a blow being relegated to the Plate Division, having missed out on the Elite Division of the Ranji Trophy.

Dalmiya does not have only administrative affairs to clear but also, ensure Bengal provides a strong comeback as well. That apart, it will be interesting to see what Sourav Ganguly does now that Dalmiya is back at the helm. Ganguly had vociferously told the media that he would not hesitate to represent another state if Dalmiya were indeed re elected. Now that he has, Ganguly may well face a scenario where he may not enjoy Dalmiya’s support either.

Knowing how Indian politics work, there will perhaps, in the interest of sustaining interest in the passionate, cricket loving public of Bengal, be a patch up, a public patch up that is. Underhand currents usually always simmer and only the extent of problems within the CAB will see if the Ganguly-Dalmiya face off will actually happen.

While Dalmiya was forced to watch from the sidelines, the Knight Riders have established themselves. But it was not a smooth ride with the problems at the Eden Gardens ground over electricity cut offs and grounds men threatening dire action. He knows his detractors will line up against him. Dalmiya has tasted international glory once as the ICC president. The Pawar lobby will look to ensure it does not happen again, while Pawar is still at the helm. Dalmiya’s personal disagreements and run-ins with the present board could well turn into a cold war, or a proxy one, between the CAB and the BCCI.

Dalmiya has reclaimed a troubled child in many ways. He has to now work harder to ensure that is does not become, justifiably or not, his comeuppance.