By Tirthankar Mitra
KOLKATA: Football and electoral politics make strange bedfellows though a few politicians have been in sports bodies and ran them almost as their fiefdom in West Bengal. But heads turned and eyes were raised in amazement when the men heading Mohan Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting endorsed the candidature of Sanat Dey, Trinamool Congress candidate for Naihati assembly bypoll scheduled on November 13.
The endorsement is a pointer to the surfacing of the undercurrent of interactions between Dey and the trio who have the last word in the running of the trinity of the sports clubs which have been the principal protagonists of Bengal football. Indeed matches in which any two of the clubs participate still draw large crowds.
In a X handle post, Debabrata Sarkar of East Bengal, Mohan Bagan’s Debasis Dutta and Mohammeden Sporting working president Mohammad Kamaruddin together with Indian Football Association (IFA) chief Anirban Dutta have sung the praise of the TMC candidate for Naihati. The Opposition is smelling a rat at the timing of the accolades showered on the TMC nominee Dey.
Even in an age when Generation Y prefer to stay awake at night to watch the nail biting matches of international football, the fans of the trio are an increasing tribe. And these fans rooting for their club come from far and wide and Naihati cannot be stated to be uninhabited by the supporters of the Maidan football’s Big Three.
And any poll candidate will have a headstart if he/she can obtain the support of the followers of a single club. In case of Naihati assembly poll, Dey the TMC nominee seems to have the support of all three as against the Left Front supported CPI(ML)-Liberation nominee Dibyojyoti Majumdar as also the BJP candidate.
Even in the event of some of the followers of the football triumvirate of Maidan not exercising their franchise in De’s favour, the rest will. Had not his organising skills received high praise from the three club chiefs for ensuring arrangements of the matches of the trio at Naihati Stadium for organizing football matches.
And the “flock of fans” are very likely to follow the broad hint dropped by the respective club chiefs and vote one and all for the TMC candidate on the polling day. Once a CPI(M) stronghold, the Left Front leadership in an uncharacteristic move have conceded this constituency to CPI(ML)- L, a onetime political pariah.
Love for football and loyalty to these three clubs have been part and parcel of the sports lore of Bengal. Arguably it can be traced to Mohan Bagan beating East Yorkshire in 1911 IFA shield final and earning the coveted honour of being the first Indian team to lift the prestigious trophy giving a fillip to the rising tide of nationalism.
Refreshing ones memory, instances of political intervention in the arena of sports in Maidan can be recalled. They may be rare but not unheard of. Late chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya did not conceal his support for the then city police chief Prasun Mukherje against Jagmohan Dalmia in the election President of Cricket Association of Bengal. Fact remains Mukherjee won, but his principal backer, the chief minister did not quite cover himself with glory.
It was learnt from Trinamool sources that the ruling dispensation has borrowed the idea of getting the club chiefs nod for their bypoll candidate from the ranks of those shouting “We want justice’ for the woman doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Some followers of the three clubs had closed ranks and joined the chorus of the demand for justice after a Durand Cup match between East Bengal and Mohan Bagan scheduled to be played at Yuba Bharati Krirangan was called off.
The authorities, it was learnt had cancelled the match seeking to preempt a large scale agitation by protestors demanding justice for the victim of the RG incident. But this “strategic move” backfired. The football fans overlooked the match being cancelled. They gathered near the stadium and shouted slogans. This was taken by the TMC government as a bad signal from young sportslovers. So, a way was found to deploy the three club chiefs in support of the TMC candidate who is well known in the sports world.
The TMC bypoll nominee’s endorsement by the three club chiefs is stated to have a dual purpose. It is a call to the supporters of these three clubs living in Naihati Assembly segment to vote for the TMC nominee.
The other is sending a message to the protestors that they have been beaten in their own game. The TMC leadership is not losing too much sleep at leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari shooting off a letter to the Union sports minister Mansukh Mandavya alleging election campaign irregularity.
Faced with a Left Front supported CPI(M-L)-L candidate, the Trinamool leadership have harnessed a unique game plan. It remains to be seen how far the good words of the three principal football club chiefs and the head honcho of the IFA can sway the voters choice in Naihati where the ruling party does not want to take any chances despite the Left influence declining.. In any case, this seat belongs to the TMC and the other contenders like the CPI(ML)-L and BJP are much behind in the election campaign. (IPA Service)
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