In a dramatic turnaround post the elections of the Managing Committee of the Bangalore Turf Club on Monday, the incumbent steward Uday Eswaran pulled off a big surprise by getting the nod to become the Chairman of the Bangalore Turf Club.

In BTC, the managing committee members don`t exercise their right to elect the chairman. The aspirant works hard to get the approval of the Chief Minister of the State. The Principal Secretary to the Government who is also an ex-officio Steward, makes his appearance at the meeting when the Chairman is elected, conveying the wish of the head of the state which is accepted without any dissent even if the person recommended doesn`t have the majority support. This practice came into vogue in the 80s and has continued since then without a break, unlike the Mysore Race Club where the majority defines who becomes the Chairman.

The election of the Chairman had all the elements of a Shakespearean drama. It had suspense, intrigue, build-up, tragic hero and denouement. There were many contestants for the post of Chairman. The aspirants were busy trying to exploit their own and that of their friends` political clout to get the thrust to their nomination. The incumbent Steward Satish Gowda was widely thought to have the government nod, with the names of Aravind Raghavan, former Chairman Satish Chandra all floating around. To add to the suspense was the fact that there was no information leak that characterizes every activity of BTC though there was an inkling of Uday Eswaran being the surprise choice an hour before the board met to decide on the Chairman. When the name of Uday Eswaran was announced by the Principal Secretary to Finance I S N Prasad, a deafening silence pervaded the board room according to insiders. This was the first time ever in BTC history that a horse not reckoned to be in the race to have won the Derby! When nothing is certain, everything is possible could well define what transpired in the end. One hopes that Uday Eswaran will give a mature administration. The BTC ship needs to be anchored properly given the turbulence it has faced in the last few years.

COMIC TWIST

The elections to the Managing Committee of the Bangalore Turf Club had a comic twist highlighting whatever one proposes, disposing of it is in the hands of somebody else. You can make as many plans as you want; there is some other power that decides its success or failure.

Somebody like A C Satish Chandra who was the past Chairman of the club had lost two attempts subsequently to become a Steward. He had lost so dismally that he had resigned himself to not contesting the elections again. Thanks to an election strategy that went awry, he got a gift on a platter. He was persuaded to contest and ended up beating the candidate whose supporters had put him up with the aim of defeating the other candidate in the fray. If Satish continues to be lucky, he could become the Chairman again! He has one year to plan his future.

It was widely expected that this year`s election to the Stewards would be unopposed as there were only three candidates in the fray for three posts. However, last-minute calculations by the group supporting the candidature of Baba Bedi backfired, with the original favourite losing the election and the normally serious Satish Chandra even sporting a smug smile in the end. After this experience, Satish may well believe that to smile is to have friends and to have a scowl is to have wrinkles!

The group supporting Baba Bedi was so confident of the success that they were not just happy with making him win, they also wanted to ensure the defeat of Aravind Raghavan by persuading Satish Chandra to try his luck once again. As it turned out, Aravind Raghavan was a runaway winner while the third slot ended in a straight fight between friendly candidates, with Satish Chandra winning by four votes.

Baba Bedi who incidentally is also an office-bearer of the Rifle Association of India was a victim of friendly fire! It was akin to a strong favourite losing a race because the connections wanted the horse to not only win but also create a record and, in the bargain, lose both! Life has a funny way of teaching lessons. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush but in this instance, the strategy was to snatch it from the burning bush!