After being beaten and almost hounded out as the president of the faction-ridden Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), Lalit Modi will continues as a vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The reason is he is a vice president of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), thanks to the largesse of its president, Inder Singh Bindra, who is on an assignment with the International Cricket Council (ICC), and one thought, out of the picture as far as the BCCI is concerned.

Bindra, of course, is a master politician and must have anticipated trouble in the RCA, what with the new government out to put Modi in his place. Hence he ensured that Modi has room to breathe and manoeuvre, as the future of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is in the latter’s reportedly soiled hands.

It is too much to expect the BCCI to follow democratic norms, because it has never been democratically run. Either the writ of one individual or a group which functions without any scruples is what runs the BCCI. The current president of the BCCI, Shashank Manohar, is reportedly a capable and successful lawyer who enjoys his present position because of the Union minister, Sharad Pawar. And he knows which side of his bread is buttered. The honorary secretary of the BCCI, N. Srinivasan, known for his megalomania, is one who hopes to succeed Manohar as the president of the BCCI.

To this cabal, the survival of Modi is crucial as he is the one who can generate the greenbacks. The strength and influence of the BCCI are in its astonishing wealth and whoever falls in line and plays ball is assured of plenty. As far as the RCA is concerned it is happier rid of Modi, but is certain to face all manner of irritants, as one cannot afford to plough a lonely furrow in the BCCI. It has nothing to do with a feeling of spirit de corps but more an association of disreputable power mongers, most of whom cannot draw up league fixtures.

In Rajasthan, the Rungta family has always been influential, headed by Purushottam, a former president of the BCCI. But the grapevine has it that he is too old to fight and the other members of his family do not have the necessary wherewithal. One should not be surprised if Modi makes a comeback sooner than later in the RCA.

Money talks and works, too.