We agonise about cricket and while our players do us proud, what can one say of the BCCI? And I suppose IPL no longer exists. In the ICC Champion’s Trophy, while we won our first game against South Africa, at home the controversy lingered though I think there should be a truce till the tournament gets over. Nothing is going to happen with the BCCI in-house inquiry. The Delhi police commissioner claimed it was a good thing that Raj Kundra was not being arrested until firm evidence could be found. Both Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals need to be suspended as owners do not gamble on their own teams.
We need to focus on Goa and see how Narendra Modi has scattered his opposition. Now the BJP can get down to serious election work and I think the first priority will be Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. But work will take a backseat as the BJP will first hail its new leader and you can expect noisy celebrations. All looked well, but then there are problems and prejudices could surface and we could see a fight.
Senior leader L K Advani is going to skip Goa and miss the elevation of Modi as campaign chief. After all, his choice is Sushma Swaraj. I wonder if the game of ‘musical chairs’ is going to start all over again. The BJP is not worried about public opinion or the fact that everything is reported in a million media outlets, and this is not good for the party.
As I write this article, the position changes by the hour and the BJP virus spreads. Jaswant Singh is taken ill and Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Varun Gandhi are not attending and many after arrival in Goa could report ill. This is now looking like a Bollywood potboiler and I suppose almost anything can happen in merry Goa.
The regional parties have their own complications. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar suffered a setback and there is turmoil in Andhra Pradesh. Telangana and TRS caused some damage to the Congress, but they are not in a position to sweep the poll. In other areas, the Congress, TDP and YSR Congress are fighting for space. The position is fluid and we will have to wait for developments. Corruption in the south is a major issue. See how the AIADMK scattered the DMK, and again in recent days we have seen the BJP and B S Yeddyurappa both beaten by the Congress. I do not think Jagan Mohan Reddy will have an easy time.
Nevertheless, no matter how hard you try, it is difficult to get away from the betting scam and the spotlight is on Rajasthan Royals as several players are indicted under MCOCA and owner Raj Kundra has admitted to gambling. I do hope he and wife Shilpa Shetty will become ‘approvers’ and clear their names. Losing their franchise is a small price to pay for getting their lives back. Many matches this year had strange results and I did watch a match or two and it made no sense at all. I do not think the BCCI or any owner will admit to anything and now the ball is in the government’s court, not only for cricket but for other sports as well.
On a stormy note, we experienced our first aandhi of the season and it was a violent storm. We lost half a dozen trees but the damage in Mehrauli was very extensive and took 48 hours to restore power and we lost 25 per cent of our mango crop. Small price to pay for relief from the heat wave. At least all the trees are smiling with their supply of water. The monsoons are on time and adequate rainfall in a difficult economy will come as a boon for the farmer and the country.
arunnehru89@yahoo.in
Nehru is a former Union minister