Sharad Pawar pads up for another innings at MCA

Undeterred by controversies over his involvement in the Indian Premier League (IPL) bidding process and allegations of mixing cricket with politics, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is ready to play another innings at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) — seeking re-election as its president.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) patriarch is currently the president of the International Cricket Council, too. NCP shares the ruling alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra.The Shiv Sena, the state’s main opposition party, has thrown its weight behind former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar for the MCA president’s post.

Both Pawar and Vengsarkar have launched campaigning for the election, voting for which is slated for July 15.The Union minister and his family have been accused of being involved in the IPL bidding process.

The Shiv Sena’s decision to extend support to Vengsarkar comes at a time when as the party has started preparing for the elections to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, to be held in February next year.

“We want to simply appeal to the voters to vote for a player and not a politician like Pawar who is unable to devote much time for cricket due to his political assignments as the Union minister at the Centre. Besides, we are appealing for a change,” said a Shiv Sena leader close to party supremo Bal Thackeray.

The party has to strive to mobilise adequate support for Vengsarkar due to lack of sufficient membership owing allegiance to it.

Pawar, who left on Sunday morning for New Delhi to attend an all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister to discuss the draft Lok Pal Bill, denied allegations that he mixed politics with cricket, and said the Sena’s ‘game plan’ might not succeed.

“I want to make it clear that I have never mixed politics with cricket. During my stint as the MCA president, I gave full freedom to cricketers to implement a slew of decisions though I was very much involved in providing necessary administrative support. Even Manohar Joshi, veteran Shiv Sena leader and a former Lok Sabha speaker, during his stint as the MCA president never brought politics into cricket. But it seems the Shiv Sena is determined to play politics during the ensuing elections,” he told Business Standard.

Pawar, who held a series of meetings with his voters and various associations on Saturday, said his priority would be to promote cricket and implement necessary policies as the MCA president. “During my tenure as MCA president, the Wankhede Stadium, where the World Cup took place in April, was redone by increasing its seating capacity. Nearly Rs 250 crore was spent. The Board of Control for Cricket in India headquarters was shifted to Mumbai (from Kolkata) and a world-class indoor cricket academy and a club were constructed at the plush Bandra Kurla complex.”