By IANS,
New Delhi : Bharatiya janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani finds all the hype and hysteria about Twenty20 cricket rather amusing, but that has not stopped him from using cricket to score a political point or two.
Basking in the glow of the BJP’s victory in the Karnataka assembly elections last month, Advani Tuesday regaled a gathering of businessmen in the capital with stories of how he used analogies from Twenty20 cricket against political opponents during campaigning in the state.
“Twenty20 cricket has helped me in speeches in Karnataka elections. I used to tell people that after the JD-S (Janata Dal-Secular) played 20 overs, it was our turn to play. But the JD-S would not let us play,” he said, triggering waves of laughter from the assembled audience.
“And the third party will only announce captain after the match is over,” he said in a sarcastic attack on the Congress’ refusal to name a chief ministerial candidate for the Karnataka polls.
The victory in Karnataka was the BJP’s first in south India.
Wearing his love for cricket on his sleeve, Advani’s 40-minute bi-lingual speech at an annual function organized by an industry body had a generous sprinkling of cricket-related anecdotes.
Sounding slightly bemused at the India Premier League (IPL) fever that swept the country for 45 days till Sunday, Advani said he did not know much about new stars spawned by the fast-paced version of the game.
“I used to watch five-day Test marches and I loved it. Now in three hours, the game is over,” he said at the function organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).
“It shows new potential. It shows what people of this country are capable of,” Advani said.