Maharashtra Congress Chief Nana Patole Eyes Mumbai Cricket Association Presidency Amid State Legislative Council Elections

Mumbai: Politics and cricket have always had a deep connection in India. NCP founder Sharad Pawar was president of the BCCI and the ICC. Political leaders have been involved in state cricket boards all over India. But now a strange connection has emerged between the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections, which will take place on July 12, and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) polls a few days later.

State Congress President Registers Himself As A Member At Mazgaon Cricket Club

State Congress president Nana Patole has registered himself as a member at the Mazgaon Cricket Club, giving indications that he may aspire to become the new MCA president, while Uddhav Thackeray’s candidate in the MLC election, Milind Narvekar, who is also very active and influential at the MCA, may not contest at MCA and instead support Patole.

Insiders say it is clear that Patole and Narvekar struck a deal just days ago. MCA has been a body of powerful politicians. BJP leader and MLA Ashish Shelar, NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad, Shiv Sena (UBT) secretary Milind Narvekar, and many other politicians are office bearers at the MCA. It has now emerged that Patole wants to become president of MCA, a position that fell vacant because of the sudden death of Amol Kale, who died in the United States during the recent World Cup.

It is obvious that Thackeray and the Congress leadership have agreed to support Narvekar in the MLC election. In return, the Shiv Sena (UBT) will support Patole in the MCA polls.

About Former CMs Active In MCA Elections

In the bygone era, former chief ministers Manohar Joshi as well as Vilasrao Deshmukh were very active in MCA elections. Late BJP leader and former Union minister Gopinath Munde also tried to contest the MCA polls.

MCA has two or three groups that usually contest elections for various office-bearers positions. One group is controlled by Pawar, another one is controlled by Shelar’s supporters. It is not clear what stand the BJP supporters will take in the MCA election as the late president Amol Kale belonged to the BJP supporters’ group and was very close to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Asked about these developments and whether some deal has been struck between Thackeray and Patole, leaders from both sides refused to make any comment. However, multiple sources confirmed that Narvekar was the only other candidate who could have contested the MCA president’s position against Patole but is now likely to concentrate on his MLC election.

The third name in discussion at the MCA polls is that of Ajinkya Naik. If it’s a straight fight between Patole and Naik, the chances of Patole winning are high while insiders say if Narvekar had contested for the MCA president, Patole’s chances would have been slim.