As the date for Delhi cricket's first ever open election approaches—it's on June 30—the campaign is gaining momentum. The triangular fight for the post of president apart, the elections will be held after requisite changes have been made in the constitution of the Delhi and District Cricket Association as per the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations.
Social media campaigns, expensive “gifts”, lavish parties for members, an Adnan Sami concert, and election budgets running into crores, have been the highlights of the campaign so far.
The contest is otherwise primarily between the panel headed by TV personality Rajat Sharma who is backed by the likes of Vinod Tihara, C.K. Khanna—officials who have been regarded as “pernicious influence” in the past—and the senior advocate Vikas Singh's panel.
The simplest campaign, in fact, is being run by former India player and coach Madan Lal who is contesting the post of the president. Using his former teammates and pupils, he has raised awareness of his plans to raise the standard of cricket in Delhi. The 1983 stars—from Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, to Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil—have been featured in small videos, which were uploaded on Twitter and Facebook, where they lent moral support to “Madipa” and appealed to other former cricketers, who are members of the DDCA, to support a cricketer.
Speaking to the media, former India skipper Bishan Singh Bedi and president of the NCT Cricket Association, urged members with voting rights to support cricketers. “There are two international cricketers standing in these elections—Madan Lal and Surinder Khanna. We urge everyone to support them. The problems in DDCA are cricketing ones, cricketers should handle them,” he said.
Former India wicketkeeper Khanna is standing for the post of director, cricket, from Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh's DDCA member's front. “Perhaps the right bend is around the corner. This is the only time open elections are being held in DDCA where a voter will have to be physically present for voting.”
Bedi, Azad and a host of Delhi cricketers have spoken out in the past against the rot in Delhi cricket owing to poor administration. However, they have not put up a panel but made it clear they will, as former cricketers, back and support the two players who have thrown their hats in the ring.
DDCA elections are being held under the watch of Delhi High Court-appointed administrator Justice Vikramjit, who is a retired Supreme Court judge. E-voting will be done to ensure there is no attempt to manipulate voting.
Kirti Azad, who has spearheaded the fight to oust corrupt officials from Delhi cricket, was critical of the money being spent on the elections of an already tainted DDCA which has been in news for maladministration and corruption by its previous officials. Speaking on behalf of Delhi Players' Association, Azad asked, “We have no personal grudge against any contestant except against those who are involved in the DDCA scam.
“Big parties, concerts are being organised. I want to know how will the money spent on these be compensated?”
Bedi hailed the extermination of the dreaded proxy voting system but he also lamented that those officials who are no longer eligible and have played a role in making DDCA notorious were getting dummy candidates to fight elections. Acting BCCI president and former DDCA vice president C.K. Khanna has got his wife Shashi to stand for the post he had to leave due to Lodha Committee reforms. Former DDCA general secretary S.P. Bansal who is accused for mismanagement of funds in the DDCA scam, has got his brother to contest the elections.
“Proxy is dead but long live proxy still,” said Bedi. “People are trying their best through nepotism to get a way back in. Why? Why spend so much on elections knowing fully well that DDCA has a poor record as far as administration is concerned.
“They feared that 'outsiders' who were contesting elections with backing of notorious DDCA officials who had numbers on their side would find the going tough.
“Delhi cricket's problems are many. They won't go away so early. People may be getting into uncharted waters. We have been fighting this for 40 years and just when we thought there is light at the end of the tunnel, we see these symbols of human proxies,” said Bedi.
SCBA president Vikas Singh launched his campaign with a lavish party in the capital a few weeks ago where he presented his panel as well as issued a printed manifesto. His vision document outlines better club facilities for members, state-of-art accommodation for members, revamped bar, card and pool rooms, among others. The cricketing vision comes thereafter, including transparency in election, a gymnasium, world-class spa and change room for players, a revamped Delhi League, organisation of a Delhi T20 league, and zonal cricket academies.
Singh appears to be an “independent” wildcard candidate and has promised that he would go by the Supreme Court order which had passed Lodha reforms. Saying that his son had been a victim of the selection vagaries of DDCA officials, Singh hailed the end of the proxy system. “Only because proxy system has been done away with, like-minded people have come together to stand in these elections. Cricket affairs will be run by cricketers. We will follow Lodha committee reforms in toto.” He slammed the idea of the DDCA being run by a 'remote control' president or vice president and made it clear that “he won't fight the president's post on the basis of support of a group which has ruined DDCA all these years”.
The other group is being backed largely by the old guard which has fought tooth and nail to maintain its hold on the DDCA by hook or by crook.