A major political storm has erupted in Pune's cricket circles ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) elections. Former cricketer and BJP leader Kedar Jadhav has made a sensational allegation that the current administration, led by Rohit Pawar, has bypassed Supreme Court rules and enrolled 401 new life members. This has once again brought the issue of nepotism and favouritism in cricket administration to the forefront.
‘How did the membership increase from 150 to 600?’
According to the voter list published on December 25, just before the election process, the number of members has jumped from 150 to over 600. According to Kedar Jadhav's claim, these new members include 18 relatives of Rohit Pawar, 56 business partners, and 37 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) office-bearers.
It has also come to light that the names include that of Rohit Pawar's wife, Kunti Pawar. It is alleged that the new voter list is filled with Rohit Pawar's relatives, employees of Baramati Agro, and prominent NCP leaders. Kedar Jadhav has alleged that this irregular membership registration was done to strengthen their hold on cricket administration. The inclusion of members of the Pawar family, including Supriya Sule's daughter, has given this controversy a completely political dimension.
Petition filed in court against membership registration
Claiming that this membership registration violates the Lodha Committee recommendations, Kedar Jadhav has approached the Bombay High Court. He argues that the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court to break the monopoly in cricket associations are being disregarded.
On the other hand, MCA officials have rejected all these allegations. They claim that the selection of new members was done legally through a committee headed by a retired High Court judge. The next hearing in this case will be held on Monday, and everyone is watching to see what impact it will have on the voting scheduled for January 6th.
