Modi loses again as Joshi takes over as Rajasthan cricket chief

Union Cabinet Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, C P Joshi, on Monday thwarted Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi’s bid to reclaim the top spot in the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), beating him by 19 votes to 13 to be elected as the state body’s next president.

The Joshi camp also won the posts of secretary and treasurer, even as voting on Monday was marred by scuffles between supporters from the two factions.

Modi had been ousted from the RCA in March, losing the election to IAS officer Sanjay Dixit’s group. But the Dixit victory turned sour only two months later, with his supporters passing a no-confidence motion against him and calling for fresh elections. Several of the RCA members who helped defeat Modi in March supported him this time, and Dixit won the post of secretary under Joshi’s banner.

“This victory was possible only with the support of my colleagues in the RCA. I decided to enter the fray for the good of cricket in Rajasthan,” Joshi said after his victory. “As a cabinet minister, I know how to run the administration of a body. There will be no more politics in this association. I will only act as a catalyst for cricket in the state.”

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