Representatives of Indian political parties holding important positions in sports associations is not an exception in India, but the recent trend of political parties trying to get connected with masses in Chandigarh through sports is a new trend.
If the annually hyped Gully Cricket Tournament, which has been organised under the patronage of a local cricket association and Chandigarh Police, was not enough to encourage the youth to avoid drugs and adopt sports, another new event ‘Khelo Chandigarh’ has now been launched with an aim to provide platform for youngsters to showcase their talent.
The common thing in both programmes is the BJP, which seems to have adopted sports as the new modern ‘weapon’ of connecting with the masses. The Gully Cricket Tournament, which gets support from sponsors and some important departments of the Chandigarh Administration, is organised under the supervision of its chairman Sanjay Tandon, former BJP city chief, who lost the last Lok Sabha election to current MP Manish Tewari.
The grand opening ceremony of this tournament was held at the Sector 16 cricket stadium in presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, along with top officials of the UT Administration, while the closing ceremony of this event was attended by Saudan Singh, who has had several organisational roles in both BJP and RSS alongside the UT Administrator.
The opening of Khelo Chandigarh event was no different, as it was announced open on Panjab University campus by the Chandigarh BJP’s top brass in presence of top university officials. The tournament has been organised in football, basketball, kabaddi, rugby, netball, volleyball, judo, karate, table tennis and track and field events.
“The main motive of the BJP sports cell is to promote sports among the youth and to make them spend their evenings working hard on their physical fitness. It’s a way to stop the youth from taking drugs, and also to make them aware about benefits of playing even after finishing their schools,” said Paramjit Singh Lamba, convenor, sports cell, BJP.
Interestingly, when some sports associations struggle to host even a single event in a year, these events witness huge participation of players, officials, associations and various government departments.
“These days, sports is the safest way to connect with the masses. A latest example is when some local associations were struggling to get government school grounds for running their operations, but with the help of political backing, they have now a chance of getting the same," said a coach, whose two teams are participating in this event.
