IPL ~ a revolution or else??

The IPL bubble like the internet bubble of the early 2000s appears set to burst under the burden of the egos of the owners and the out-of-control greed and lack of self-regulation.Since the IPL commissioner himself has family ties to two of the franchises, he is merrily writing and re-writing the rules as per the ever-changing demands of the franchise owners.All major American sports too have commissioners. But it would be unheard of for any of them to have financial ties to the very league they are supposed to independently monitor. In simple English this is called ‘conflict of interest’, an obviously alien concept in the IPL.The expected lifting next year of the $5 million salary cap per franchise has already created a rift. Ricky Ponting has warned against its consequences while Sachin Tendulkar is rubbing his hands in glee at the untold riches in store. The cricketers are under immense pressure from their corporate bosses to perform and are slowly waking up to this new bitter reality. It has led many of them to become stressed out and disillusioned. Bangalore Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya set the ball rolling with his petulant public attack on captain Rahul Dravid.Being part of the glitzy media launch and featuring himself in the team promos at the start of the IPL was all fair game for Mallya, happy to bask in the reflected glory of his team. But once the defeats started mounting, it became a case of abandoning the sinking ship. Dravid is currently in no position to defend himself. But he has said he will do so at an "appropriate time and forum" Expect the sparks to fly.In fact, the selection of the Bangalore team had come in for a lot of flak from the start as it was dubbed a Test team in 20/20 clothing. That has proved to be the case.Then again, who would have guessed a side packed with hard-hitting superstars like Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi and Hershchelle Gibbs would be the other big flop of the IPL? Yet the Deccan Chargers currently languish at the bottom of the table.The biggest lesson for the big bosses of the IPL is that money can’t buy you instant success. After all, the cheapest of the franchises, Rajasthan Royals are the success story of the first year.Like any sport, in cricket too there are no guarantees, particularly in the 20/20 format which is more like a lottery. Yet the giant and fragile egos of the owners cannot reconcile themselves to the fact that only four of the eight teams can make it to the semifinals.Now the dressing room, always off limits to all but players and support staff, is being invaded by all and sundry, including the owners’ children and their bodyguards!Shah Rukh Khan claims he is staying away from the Kolkata Knight Riders’ matches as he is upset and confused by the IPL and ICC rules forbidding anyone else from approaching the team zone. Of course, here too the IPL commissioner is bending over backwards to placate the superstars like Khan and Preity Zinta. But the 15 minutes allotted to team owners is apparently not good enough for Khan. "Why pick on me?" he whines. Khan claims he is ‘anti-establishment’. Is he also against the laws of the land? Smoking is prohibited in public places in Kolkata and many other cities in India. Yet no one dare tell him to stop lighting up at the Eden Gardens. One official has been quoted as saying: "How can we stop him? After all, he is a big man and owner of the team." That really says it all. The latest owner/captain rift that has come out into the open is between Khan and KKR captain Sourav Ganguly. As the team has slid down the points table with one defeat after another, the prancing antics of Khan have become more and more muted. Someone should tell him sport is not a Bollywood movie with a guaranteed happy ending.The buzz is that Khan is using coach John Buchanan to clip the wings of Ganguly, the most successful captain in Indian cricket history. And Buchanan is happy to dance to Khan’s tune.Not surprising really since he has got his son Michael in through the back door of the team in the role of ‘strength trainer’. Jobs for the boys indeed!

Left turn into Soft on "withdrawl of suport" in context of Nuclear Deal

With reports of Left all set to withdraw support from the government, the National Security Advisor -- MK Narayanan -- is all set to brief Samajwadi Party leaders on the Indo-US nuke deal issue in a desperate bid to win support ahead of Left's pullout to save the government.
The National Security Advisor (NSA) on Wednesday (July 2, 2008) met with SP General Secretary -- Amar Singh -- to explain the technicalities of the deal. The meeting with Amar Singh follows his much talked about close door meeting with UPA pointsperson -- the Union External Affairs Minister -- Pranab Mukherjee.
After the meeting with the NSA -- Amar Singh -- said:"As Amar Singh quoted, "In today's times, more than any other threat, the most fatalistic threat is the slowly spreading poison of communalism. We have always fought against communalism."
Click here to listen to Amar SinghThis is part of the UPA government's efforts to get the required numbers in Parliament to see the deal through in the eventuality of the Left voting against it. SP sources have indicated that the party will vote for the deal in the event of a floor test but will continue to oppose it outside the Parliament.
In return, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) will forge a long term political alliance in Uttar Pradesh.
Today's hectic political parley's came after CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat issued his most stern warning to the government on Tuesday (July 1) stating that if the Prime Minister goes to the G8 Summit, the Left will withdraw support.
Prakash Karat had stated yesterday: "The understanding was conveyed in the statement issued on November 16 by the UPA-Left committeee on the nuclear deal. They've gone back on that. I don't think, any coalition can work, if the concerned parties do not stand by their commitment."
Click here to listen to Prakash KaratDivided over deadline?
There seems to be a divide within the Left over the issue of when to withdraw support from the UPA government over the Indo-US nuke deal, especially with the CPI General Secretary -- A B Bardhan -- contradicting his colleague -- Prakash Karat -- and issuing a contradictory statement on Wednesday (July 2).
On Tuesday (July 1), the CPI(M) Party General Secretary -- Prakash Karat -- had linked withdrawal of support from the UPA government to PM's G-8 visit, while on Wednesday (July 2), the CPI leader -- A B Bardhan -- steered clear of commenting whether the Left will withdraw support from the UPA government categorically reiterating that the decision will be taken on Friday (July 4), when the Left parties will meet in the capital.
According to Bardhan: "G8 has nothing to do with the Nuke Deal. There is a view that it may not be proper to withdraw support when the Prime Minister is not in the country. The decision to withdraw support from the UPA on Friday (July 4) is unlikely and it may be delayed." Meanwhile, the RLD leader -- Ajit Singh -- also hinted at supporting the Indo-US nuclear deal. Ajit Singh has called a meeting of party MPs and MLAs on July 7 to take a final decision. Singh says, he met the Congress President Sonia Gandhi on June 26 and has discussed the issue with her.
'We won't seek no confidence motion' Meanwhile in a seemingly sofetning of stand, BJP Chief -- Rajnath Singh -- has said that the BJP won't initiate or bring a no-confidence motion against the UPA government, if the Left pulls out over the Indo-US nuclear deal.Rajnath Singh also mentioned that while the BJP wasn't against the US but it was certainly against the nuclear deal.Why the pullout is likely on FridayThe Left has reached a point of no return on the Nuke-deal after the Prime Minister has signalled his intention of going to G8. IAEA and the Left parties are not too keen to back down if the PM goes to attend the G8.In the present circumstances, the likely scenario is that Left may announce a pullout on Friday (July 4). On the other hand, the SP may announce its support to the Congress or the Congress may also acquire backing of the lesser parties if votes are needed.
Present Party positionsMulayam Singh (SP)Inching closer to Congress. Meeting NSA today (July 2), Working out support formula with UNPA partners.Prakash Karat (CPM)Sets G8 deadline for withdrawl of the N-deal. The final decision is awaited on Friday (July 4).CongressWorking out support formula with SP, also dealing with the smaller parties to extend support.UPA allies (Lalu Prasad, Sharad Pawar)Ready to part ways with the Left, the UPA allies also Want to avoid early elections at all costs.Where are the numbers?Here's a look at the numbers the Manmohan Singh government needs to survive in the event of a no-trust vote.The UPA has 226 members in the Lok Sabha as of now. With the backing of the Samajwadi Party, the UPA strength goes up to 265, just seven votes short of the magic figure. But the UPA could be bailed out in such a situation if the RLD, NC, JDS and TRS pitches in successively.The Number GameTarget: 272 (Majority mark)UPA - 226If SP supports UPA, then the mark would rise to 265Shortcoming in the total number of votes - 7Possible 'Friends in need' with their vote marksRLD - 3NC - 2JD(S) - 3TRS - 3Independents - 5

New Delhi's Political Equation

With the Samajwadi Party refusing to reveal its mind on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal till July 3, other constituents of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) are busy trying to assess the emerging situation in a bid to draw their respective party lines.
Particularly busy on Tuesday was the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with senior leader K. Yerrannaidu meeting Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat, UNPA constituent and Indian National Lok Dal leader Om Prakash Chauthala.
After meeting Mr. Chauthala and Mr. Karat, the TDP leader told me over phone (on behalf of Star News) that he was just trying to take stock of the developments ahead of Thursday’s meeting. "Instead of going by what is being said in the media, we want to make sure for ourselves the respective party positions on the issue."
As for the possibility of the UNPA arrangement getting unstuck should the Samajwadi Party decide to go with the Congress on the nuclear deal, Mr. Yerrannaidu refused to speculate on such an eventuality at this juncture.
Earlier in the day, the Samajwadi Party leadership continued to speak about the Congress with the guarded tone and tenor it has adopted since its position on the deal became crucial to keeping the United Progressive Alliance government alive.
Asked whether the party continued to consider the Congress as beyond the pale, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh said: "In politics, we can have differences but any party can be an ally."
About Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s charge that the Samajwadi Party was planning to align with a party (Congress) that wanted to do business with a country (the U.S.) which had Muslim blood on its hands, SP general secretary Amar Singh said it was unfortunate that attempts are being made to communalise the issue.
Also, the Samajwadi Party sought to point out that Ms. Mayawati had been supportive of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the 2002 carnage.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad met Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Confident that the Samajwadi Party would support the deal, he told reporters that both the government and the nuclear deal would survive.

Taking seriously the Left threat to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, if it proceeds with signing the nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the government has almost got the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Janata Dal-Secular and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on board.
SP general secretary Amar Singh, who met external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday night and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Tuesday clearly indicated a change in tone.
SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav expressed similar sentiments. He and Singh spelt out "fighting the communal BJP-BSP nexus" and avoiding elections at this stage as their first priority. But this has put Mulayam Singh in a piquant situation.
SP sources said while Mulayam was keen to save the government to avoid early elections, he was reluctant to ditch the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA)-he leads, till he was certain of the numbers on the side of the government.
The UNPA comprising the SP, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is meeting here on Thursday to discuss their stand on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal. So far it has opposed the deal.
The Congress has asked Mulayam to persuade his UNPA partners to support the deal. To arm the SP with a cogent argument to support the deal the government has despatched National Security Adviser (NSA) M.K. Narayanan to make SP leaders understand the finer points of the deal, which they in turn will further communicate to their UNPA partners.
Mulayam was willing to try but had reportedly told the Congress leaders that he was not hopeful of winning over the other UNPA partners. In fact the battle lines within the UNPA on this issue seemed already drawn. In the run up to the UNPA meeting TDP parliamentary party leader K. Yerrannaidu accompanied by former party MP K. Rama Mohan Rao first met Karat here on Tuesday and later met Mulayam.
Mulayam maintained that elections at this juncture would only help Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s BSP in UP and the BJP nationally and for that both Mulayam and Amar Singh clearly indicated that they were ready to change their tone.
Mulayam said, "In politics there are no permanent enemies though there may be ideological differences."
Similarly, Amar said, "In UP, the BJP and the BSP are one force for my party. Despite being ditched by the BSP thrice in the past, the BJP is ready to go again with it," he added.
Simultaneously railway minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, working overtime as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s emissary again met her along with Pranab. In a parallel development, Left leaders are meeting here on Friday. The four Left parties have reportedly authorised their leaders in Delhi to get together and prepare the draft for withdrawing support at a short notice, if the government proceeds with the deal any further.
Meanwhile, the CPM Politburo has dismissed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s appeal to allow him to proceed up to the nuclear deal and his offer to come back to Parliament after that.
The statement said, "This would mean a fait accompli, as the only step left would be the vote in the US Congress."