Taking over at a time when BCCI image has got hampered: Sourav Ganguly
Mumbai: The new BCCI president-elect Sourav Ganguly's on Monday said "it's a great opportunity for him to do something good" as he is taking over the reigns of the board at a time when it's image has got a serious beating.
Ganguly pipped Brijesh Patel in a see-saw battle and is expected to be the only presidential nominee.
"You need to wait till 3 pm in the afternoon," Ganguly told PTI during an interaction. "Obviously, it's a great feeling as I have played for the country and captained the country.
"And I am taking over at a time when BCCI has not been in greatest of position for the last three years. Its image has got hampered quite a lot. It's a great opportunity for me to do something good," said the former India captain, who will have to demit office in July, due to compulsory cooling off period.
Ganguly also said his first priority in the short tenure would be to look after "first-class cricketers"
The 47-year-old plans to meet all the stakeholders in Indian cricket and wants to do something that Committee of Administrators (CoA) didn't do for 33 months.
"We will speak to everyone first as we take a decision but my biggest priority will be to look after first class cricketers. I had requested that to the CoA for three years and they didn't listen. That's the first thing I will do, look after the financial health of our first-class cricketers," said Ganguly, who scored more than 18,000 international runs.
Being selected unopposed is a big responsibility, he admitted.
"Whether unopposed or not, there has to be responsibility as it is the biggest organisation in world cricket. Financially, India is a cricketing powerhouse, so it will be a challenge," he said.
Does he regret that the term will be only for nine months? "Yes, that's the rule and we will deal with it."
For someone, who has won many close ODIs for India, Ganguly was emotionally intrigued by how the board room politics worked.
"I didnt know I would be the President when I came down. You (reporter) asked me and I told you it's Brijesh and when I went up and I came to know it has changed. I have never been in a BCCI election and I never knew it worked like this," he said.
He had a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday and when asked about whether he will have to campaign for BJP in Bengal, he answered in the negative.
"No, no nothing of that sort. Nobody told me anything," Ganguly said. Jagmohan Dalmiya has pulled off some amazing board room coups and talking about the late BCCI boss, Ganguly got emotional.
"I have never imagined so (that I will be in shoes of late Jagmohan Dalmiya). He has been like a father to me. There has been some great presidents of BCCI, Mr Srinivasan, Anurag, who have done great job," he said.
So will it be different from captaincy? Ganguly answered, "Nothing can beat being an India captain.
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
