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DEAR REDIFF

Stage set for the battle of the BCCI

Prem Panicker

It's all happening, folks, at Madras.

Over the past 24 hours, the bigwigs of Indian cricket have been gathering there, readying for the climactic battle for control of the BCCI on Thursday.

That it is going to be a battle, and an acrimonious one at that, was signalled by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association president A C Muthiah when he stepped forward to play the role of "counsellor" at the upcoming annual general body meeting. "The board's conventions must be maintained, and it is the responsibility of every member to uphold the dignity and image of the board," Muthiah said.

The key item on the agenda is the election to the post of president of the BCCI. Incumbent Raj Singh Dungarpur still has two years of his three year term to run -- but as per the conventions of the board, the sitting president has to seek re-election at the end of each year.

And increasingly, it seems likely that despite the backing of no less than ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya, Dungarpur could well be stymied by rival candidate Dnyaneshwar Agashe, the Pune-based sugar baron who is fronting for Dalmiya's arch rival Inderjit Singh Bindra.

The other high profile battle is between J Y Lele -- again, a Dalmiya factotum -- and Sunil Dev, nephew of Sheila Kaul and close friend of Kamal Nath. Dev, besides being sports secretary of the Delhi District Cricket Association, is also head of the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Society and this fact, in turn, gives him -- or so he claims -- direct access to 10, Janpath and its chatelaine, Sonia Gandhi.

The unitiated could well ask what Sonia Gandhi has to do with Indian cricket. And thereby lies a tale -- both Bindra and Dalmiya, locked in bitter feud, have committed the ultimate (and, one fears, irredeemable) sin of involving politicians in the activities of the BCCI.

Till now, the one advantage the Board had over other sporting bodies was that it was, by virtue of having a brimming treasury, independent of political influence. Thus, while the whims and fancies of the selectors have worked havoc with the composition of the national team, it has at the least been free of the malaise of politicians putting their grubby fingers into this pie.

By turning to the tribe politico for support against one another, Bindra and Dalmiya have opened the door for that ill, as well. And the fallout, for Indian cricket, could well prove disastrous.

As of now, the Bindra group has roped in Madhavrao Scindia, Farooq Abdullah, Tariq Anwar and George Fernandes while the Dalmiya faction boasts the clout of West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, Rajasthan CM Bhairon Singh Shekawat, Maharashtra CM Manohar Joshi, former prime minister Chandra Shekhar and Kamal Morarka.

And, of course, the ubiquitous Chandra Swami.

Not one of them has a vote, or say, in Thursday's proceedings. All of them, however, are masters of using money and muscle for political manoeuvering. And a day ahead of the crucial BCCI meet, both factions have pulled out all the stops, employing slander, mud-slinging, money and arm-twisting to force members of the member associations to vote for their candidates.

Interestingly, the two main players, Dalmiya and Bindra, have an unsettled grudge apiece that has fuelled the entire war.

In Dalmiya's case, the grouse dates right back to the ICC session last year, when Dalmiya first contested for the post of president. That election, as is now common knowledge, was aborted on an inconclusive note, and Dalmiya had to wait a year before he finally laid his hands on the plum post.

However, during a break in that meeting, a few representatives of the 'white' nations, anxious to break Dalmiya's stranglehold on the post thanks to his influence with the ICC associate nations, approached Bindra with an offer that if he opposed Dalmiya, they would give him, Bindra, their backing. Bindra succumbed to the blandishment, and though better sense ultimately prevailed, Dalmiya has nursed that grudge ever since.

Then came time for Bindra himself to resign his post as president of the BCCI. At the time, he was promised chairmanship of the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee -- which, by virtue of its influence in deciding all sponsorship deals, was a plum assignment. However, Bindra's successor Raj Singh Dungarpur, at the behest of his patron Dalmiya, reneged on that promise. And Bindra declared war.

The first salvo was fired earlier this year when Lele, as acting secretary, called for a special general body meeting to coopt Dalmiya onto the BCCI board, and to float a trust headed by Dalmiya for the "betterment of Indian cricket". Bindra's political machinery went into overdrive, and his cronies raised so many objections to the twin proposals that it was finally shelved.

That, however, was just the beginning -- the battleground shifted to the ultimate prize. To wit, control of the BCCI.

Bindra found the unlikeliest of allies in Agashe. The two had first clashed at the BCCI AGM in Gwalior four years ago, when they found themselves rivals for the same post. On that occasion, Bindra pipped Agashe by one vote -- his own. Now, the two have mended fences and, at last count, appear to have 17 of the 30 voters in the upcoming elections on their side.

Indications, thus, are that 24 hours from now, the BCCI could have a new president in Agashe. A new secretary in Sunil Dev. And new office bearers all owing allegiance to Inderjit Singh Bindra.

True, given the amount of political muscle coming into play, that situation could change again, and the Dalmiya-Dungarpur group could emerge from Thursday's AGM unscathed.

But step back from the canvas for a second. And see the issue in a wider perspective.

Assume that Bindra wins. Or Dalmiya. What then?

Both those worthies, it needs to be borne in mind, have this time relied heavily on politicians to help them in this faction fight. And politicians -- at least of the home grown variety -- are notorious for their reluctance to lift a finger for you, without demanding their pound, and more, of flesh.

So, come Thursday evening, one or the other faction wins the fight.

And beginning Friday, their respective political backers begin calling the shots. In choice of venues for upcoming fixtures. In sponsorship deals. In the appointments to prestigious sub-committees of the board. In -- why not? -- the selection of the national team.

The result?

The Indian cricket establishment will find itself on the butter-slide to oblivion.