Priyanka to root for KKR in IPL II

Amethi, Apr 14 (PTI) Her busy campaign schedule for the general elections notwithstanding, Congress' star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi will cheer for Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders in the second Indian Premier League starting April 18 in South Africa.
"I guess so, yes," Priyanka said when asked whether she would support Kolkata Knight Riders during the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament that was shifted out of India owing to a clash of dates with elections.

Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Hyderabad-based team Deccan Chargers in their opening match in Cape Town on April 19.

"Yes," she told NDTV when asked whether she backed the team because it is owned by Shahrukh Khan.

Priyanka, her husband Robert and brother Rahul Gandhi had attended Kolkata Knight Riders match during the inaugural edition of IPL last year.

Incidentally, Kolkata Knight Riders play a match on April 23 when elections are scheduled to be held in Amethi, a constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi.

[credit : http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/B0D0B4C6781A424065257598003FA1AD?OpenDocument]

No Election ads during matches - Political parties to miss on IPL popularity pie

New Delhi (PTI): Efforts of political parties to encash on the popularity of the IPL have suffered a setback with the league management making it amply clear that it will not allow telecast of any political advertisements during the second edition of the mega cricket event.

Chairman of BCCI's Finance Committee Rajeev Shukla said IPL Governing Council has decided to ban advertisements by political parties and there will not be any "rethinking" on the issue.

"The IPL Governing Council in its meeting in Goa decided not to entertain any political advertisements and we are not going to reconsider it," Mr. Shukla, also a member of the IPL Governing Council, told PTI here.

Mr. Shukla's comments came in response to reported efforts by major political parties to get the restrictions lifted on the telecast of political ads during the matches beginning April 18.

An official of the IPL broadcaster, Multi Screen Media, refused to comment on the development but admitted that it would definitely affect its revenue generation.

On whether a section of the Congress and BJP leaders had requested IPL to reconsider its decision, Mr. Shukla, also a Congress MP, said: "It was a unanimous decision and the BJP's Arun Jaitley was also present in the governing body meeting."

[credit : http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200904121607.htm]

BJP politicising IPL : Congress

New Delhi : The Indian Political League has upstaged the Indian Premier League.

The country today witnessed the spectacle of seasoned politicians sparring over cricket and exposing in the process how deep politics has struck roots in sport.

Home minister P. Chidambaram today picked up the bat from where Narendra Modi, who dubbed the IPL shift a “national shame”, and Arun Jaitley, who found India “almost clubbed with Pakistan”, had left off last night. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also got hit by a few political boundaries.

Chidambaram said he felt compelled to respond to some “unwarranted” comments that obliquely criticised the central government and deserved “a rejoinder”.

On BCCI president Shashank Manohar’s suggestion that the government’s attitude forced the transfer, Chidambaram said: “If he was referring to the central government, the remark is entirely unwarranted. If Manohar was referring to the state governments alone, I would like to remind him that state governments are ultimately responsible for maintaining law and order and one has to respect the judgement made by the state governments.” The home minister said there was no “reason to add politics” to a “shrewd combination of sport and business”.

Then he went on to strike back at Modi. “The most provocative comment has, expectedly, come from Shri Narendra Modi. He has described the decision of the IPL to go out of the country as a ‘national shame’. What is a national shame? Most people think that the Gujarat communal riots were a national shame.”

Chidambaram also referred to “backroom wizards” — a not-so-subtle reminder about the intricacies of governance at a time Jaitley is not contesting elections. “Chief ministers are not backroom wizards; they have to take frontline responsibility for providing security,” he said.

Chidambaram then named Jaitley who wears the twin hats of politician and Delhi cricket board official. “I know that Mr Jaitley has a penchant for exaggeration, but… he seems to have gone overboard this time.” Jaitley later said Chidambaram should concentrate on “the job assigned to him”.

Politics has become so closely associated with cricket that suggestions have been going around that the IPL could still be held in India as the Congress and its ally NCP have more or less formalised a seat-sharing deal in Maharashtra.

[Credit : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090324/jsp/frontpage/story_10715502.jsp]