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

IPL matches to get all support from state government

JAIPUR: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday refuted Rajasthan Cricket Association President Lalit Modi's claims that his government was trying to sabotage IPL matches in Jaipur and promised all kind of facilities for the Twenty20 games in Rajasthan.

Gehlot said the factional war in the RCA was none of state government's concerns, according to an official spokesperson of the state government.

"They would be given facilities which were provided by previous government to hold matches here, keeping people's craze for cricket in view," he said.

Modi had earlier threatened to shift IPL matches out of Jaipur, alleging the state government was harassing him.

Gehlot, however, said his Government has nothing to do with the ongoing controversies in the faction-ridden RCA.

RCA secretary Subhash Joshi leads the dissident group against Modi, who is already in a legal mess for alleged cheating and acquiring land through wrongful means.

"RCA being an autonomous body is governed by its own constitution and Rajasthan Sports act and the disputes were their internal matters," the spokesperson said.

Soruce: http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IPL_to_get_all_support_from_state_govt/articleshow/4150399.cms