Rajasthan Cricket Association elections: The day of reckoning for Vaibhav Gehlot

JAIPUR: A lopsided finale is in the offing. With the Rajasthan Cricket Association ( RCA ) almost safely in the hands of Vaibhav Gehlot , the son of chief minister Ashok Gehlot , the remaining five posts are likely to go to nominees from the C P Joshi camp in today’s polls.


Strikingly, Ram Prakash Choudhary, the secretary of Jodhpur District Cricket Association (DCA), has not withdrawn his name and is ready to dare Vaibhav, the treasurer of Rajsamand DCA, for the post of RCA president.

“They said no one can give a fight to chief minister’s son, but I am here to challenge everyone. Whatever is the result of the elections, I will continue my fight against those who are trying to play politics in the name of cricket. We were stopped from even filing nominations on Wednesday, but I will not let them breathe easy. With the support of Rameshwar Dudi, I will keep fighting,” Choudhary said.

For the important post of secretary, Joshi group’s Mahendra Sharma will contest against Sumendra Tiwari from the Lalit Modi coterie.

‘All for cricket & not from any specific faction’

For the post of vice-president, the fair-weather man, Amin Pathan, who is now a part of Joshi’s team, will be contest against Aishwarya Katoch. Exuding confidence, Pathan said, “During the last election, we lost two posts, namely that of secretary and treasurer. But this time, it will be a clean sweep for the Joshi camp.”

Refuting his association with the Modi camp, Tiwari said he is “all for cricket and does not belong to any specific faction”.

“Who will win and lose will be decided tomorrow (Friday). Whatever the result, I will work with Mahendra Sharma for the betterment of the sport,” added Tiwari.

Anant Vyas of Modi camp will take on Krishan Kumar Nimawat for the post of treasurer. Mahendra Nahar, the present joint-secretary of RCA who is close to Joshi, will again contest for the same post. Giving him challenge are Pinkesh Jain and Brij Kishore Upadhyay.

With the Joshi camp claiming to have 25 out of 32 votes, including that of former international players Salim Durani and Gagan Khoda in their pocket, Gehlot junior will most likely be in the ‘company of acquaintances and friends’.

Unlike Wednesday, Thursday was devoid of any drama. But on the day of polling and after the results are declared, some ruckus is likely at the SMS Stadium given that both the C P Joshi faction and Lalit Modi group-backed Rameshwar Dudi have called two different AGMs.