'Article 370' cricket, kabaddi games in Amit Shah's LS seat

The ruling BJP in Gujarat has decided to organise kabaddi and cricket tournaments that will have 'Article 370' in their names in Union Home Minister Amit Shah's Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, party office bearers said on Tuesday.

While modalities are still being worked out, the name of the tournament has been finalised as Gandhinagar Lok Sabha Premier League 370, and an official announcement of the tournament would be done soon, said Gujarat BJP general secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela.

According to Vaghela, the tournament has been named after Article 370 of the Constitution because it was Amit Shah, the Lok Sabha MP from Gandhinagar, who was instrumental in the abrogation of that provision, which conferred a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all MPs to organise sports tournaments in their constituencies. Thus, to provide a platform to talented youths, Shah had asked us to host such tournaments in his constituency. We will start with kabaddi and cricket and then take up other sports," said Vaghela.

He claimed people of Gujarat, especially in Gandhinagar, were in love with the term Article 370 because their local MP had tabled the proposal in the Parliament that led to its abrogation.

"As of now, it has been decided to have one kabaddi and one cricket tournament for the entire Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat. Since there will be more rush for cricket, one cricket tournament for each of the seven Assembly segments of Gandhinagar seat will be held and winners of these Assembly-level tournaments will again compete against each other for the crown," he explained.

A registration drive for the tournaments and teams would begin soon, he said.

Hitesh Patel, the BJP's media coordinator for north Gujarat, said people from Gandhinagar in the 16-40 age group can participate, with booth and ward level teams winning and advancing further as per the format of the tournament.

"The process to select grounds has begun. It is possible the cricket games would be of 10-12 over duration so that at least five games can be played daily," Patel added.

Party sources said the tournament would most probably begin from December 15.