How Lalit Modi made it big in Rajasthan

Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections five years ago saw Lalit Modi's rise to the top of Rajasthan cricket. But to become RCA president, being a domicile of the state was essential. So, Modi bought land in Nagaur allegedly through fraud and then got himself nominated from the Nagaur Cricket Association reportedly by impersonating someone called Lalit Kumar whose signatures just don't tally with those of Modi.
"The Nagaur Cricket Association president was a man called Lalit Kumar. But suddenly Lalit Modi superimposed himself and started claiming that he was Lalit Kumar. He could get away with this fraud because the government at that time supported him," said Kishore Rungta, former president, RCA.
Closeness to Vasundhara Raje made Modi's entry easier. The Raje government specially passed a Sports Act that tightened government control over sports bodies and scrapped the voting rights of all individual members in the RCA to help Modi get a majority. Experts say, the Act has harmed sports in Rajasthan.
"Due to the Sports Act, we can never host any national games in Rajasthan. Under the charter of the Indian Olympic Association, no state where the government interferes in sports bodies is allowed to hold national games," said Shiv Charan Mali, Chairman, Rajasthan Sports Council.
While the Sports Act has now been challenged in the Supreme Court, Modi personally faces a police case of forgery in Nagaur.
The meteoric rise of Lalit Modi in the cricketing world began in Rajasthan in 2005. But given his dubious entry into the RCA several cricket observers here say it's no surprise that Modi is now accused of bending all kinds of rules in the IPL book for that is exactly what he did to begin his cricket innings from Rajasthan.