From cricket grounds to the electoral field may seem like a long distance. But to whoever asks that question,former Uttar Pradesh Ranji team captain Jyoti Yadav has only one reply: Kya cricket mein kam rajneeti hai (Is there less politics in cricket)? Plus,he adds,he was wearing white then,he is wearing white now. The newly picked Samajwadi Party candidate from Allahabad (West) constituency actually has a long association with politics. His father Gopal Das Yadav was a Lok Dal MLA from the same seat from 1984-89,losing to alleged mafia don Atique Ahmed in the 2002 election from here. Jyoti,in fact,is also pitted against Ahmed this time,who is contesting on an Apna Dal ticket. Jyoti says it was the 2002 contest that got him interested in politics. He captained the Indian Under-19 cricket team against Sri Lanka in 1996,was part of the state Ranji team from 1994-2007 and its skipper from 2004 to 2007. Chosen for the Indian one-day cricket team in 1998 for the Sahara Cup between India and Pakistan in Toronto,Jyoti says: Name any domestic trophy and I have been part of one or the other cricket team. The 32-year-old left active cricket a couple of years ago to devote time to politics. However,he insists,he hasnt retired from the game. Jyotis father is his coach in his new innings. My father ceased to be MLA in 1989. But even now,people remember him because the areas where he had been active have been neglected by subsequent incumbents. They have been winning only on caste and religious equations, he says. According to him,he has seen enough politics in cricket to stand him in good stead now. Kitne saare powerful log cricket mein aa gaye hain. Aap ko kya lagta hai cricket mein gandagi nahin hai (So many powerful people have come into cricket. Do you think the rot in cricket is any less?), he says. Jyoti also feels he has an advantage because cricketers have better acceptability across all castes and religious lines. Everybody likes a cricketer. If I go into an area,people dont hide in their houses. They want to see a cricketer. Look at Sidhu (Navjot Singh),Mohammad Azharuddin and Kirti Azad all cricketers-turned-politicians, he argues. His close aides are also counting on gaining from delimitation,which has led to the vote base of his main rival shifting to City (South) constituency. Jyoti insists he is not looking for a post. In fact,I refused the post of state sports in-charge because I wanted to have experience. Apart from development and other local issues,getting a decent playground (or a stadium) in his area is on his wishlist. He credits Bhaiyya (Samajwadi Party state president Akhilesh Yadav) and Netaji (party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav) with showing vision in giving him a ticket. It is thanks to these two that a sportsperson has been given a chance. Which other party has done that?
