Politics the name of the game

The problems started in 1993, with the death of patriarch and president Dhiren De on the eve of the three-yearly club elections. The club was then taken over by secretary Swapan Sadhan (Tutu) Bose and accounts head Anjan Mitra; they have been in charge since, without holding any elections.

Cue to February 1998, when the UB Group signed an agreement with Mohun Bagan forming the United Mohun Bagan Football Team Pvt Ltd on an equal shareholding basis. It was decided that the club would play under the name of McDowell’s Mohun Bagan. The same agreements — for the same amount, approximately Rs 1.5 crore per year — were signed with East Bengal, who have since played as Kingfisher East Bengal.

However, that deal has been questioned in the High Court by a section of the club’s members, who say it is void because Bose and Mitra had no right to sign on behalf of the club. Till date the team’s full name hasn’t been used, prompting harsh criticism from UB chief Vijay Mallya and the message that he wouldn’t allow watering-down of the deal. On May 23, 2003, the court decided to take away footballing affairs from the current executive committee and appoint three officers. That hasn’t, obviously, gone down well with the Bose-Mitra faction. ‘‘We are going to take the matter to the Supreme Court’’, Mitra says.

The fallout of all this trickled down to the players, who have allegedly not been paid regularly. Eventually, in early 2003, the players revolted, allegedly led by then coach Subrata Bhattacharya who was subsequently sacked. No one knows for sure exactly how many players have not been paid or for how long. Mitra, however, says, ‘‘Some players had not been paid for one or two months. We had problems, but it’s been sorted out.’’

On the field, things are a little better. The club finished seventh in the 2002-2003 National League but currently lead the Kolkata Super League. But that’s on a technicality; they’ve played more games than East Bengal, to whom they lost 3-0.