Do Politicians Make For Good Sports Administrators?

It was a hotly contested election between a corporate chieftain and a politician. In the end, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh won. Singh was re-elected President of the Boxing Federation of India defeating senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra Sports Minister Ashish Shelar. The defeat of a prominent Maharashtra politician refreshed memories of the tussle between Jagmohan Dalmiya and Sharad Pawar for the BCCI President’s post in 2015. Dalmiya was unanimously elected BCCI President as Pawar failed to secure a nomination for the post. This begs the question: Why do politicians make beeline to join various sports bodies? Do they make for good sports administrators? As per a report, 47% of India’s sports federations are headed by politicians. Jay Kowli, Secretary-General of the Boxing Federation of India, believes having politicians as administrators have proved to be beneficial – with leaders like Sharad Pawar making a big difference to the world of cricket. Well, such encomiums must be music to the ears of politicians as the general feeling is that the politicians should keep out of the sports bodies.