Monday, March 2, 2009

IPL chief Lalit Modi loses RCA elections

JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Last year, he was applauded as the mastermind behind the Indian Premier League and hailed as a future chief of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). But on Sunday, Lalit Modi lost Rajasthan Cricket Association's presidential election to a relatively unknown bureaucrat, Sanjay Dixit, on his home turf by 13 votes to 18.

In the high voltage election that turned into a proxy showdown between chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the woman he succeeded in office, Vasundhara Raje, the wily Congressman emerged triumphant. A total of 31 votes, excluding Sriganganagar, were counted. Voting rights of Sriganganagar representatives are pending with the Supreme Court.

While a jubilant Dixit faction broke into celebration, Modi sat smoking on the stairs of RCA Academy and said, "I accept the result and all I can say is I that have paid the price for being close to Vasundhara Raje. The state government did whatever it could to defeat me."

Reacting to Modi's remarks, the new RCA chief, Dixit, retorted, "It's like the pot calling the kettle black. What Modi has done in the last few years is there for all to see." Dixit, 49, is a 1986 batch IAS officer serving as joint secretary, department of agriculture in Rajasthan.

Notwithstanding his defeat, Modi remains a BCCI vice-president until 2011 by dint of being vice-president of the Punjab Cricket Association. He will also continue as the IPL commissioner until 2013 and has the BCCI's backing.
Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lalit_Modi_loses_RCA_election/articleshow/4208436.cms

No comments: