Bengaluru: Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge has suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at cricket matches is a bad omen for the Indian team, stating that the national side’s chances improve if the PM keeps away from the stadium.
He was responding to reports that the PM is unlikely to attend Sunday’s ICC T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“It’s a good thing, India may win. Whenever he (Modi) has stepped inside (the stadium), we have lost. I am not saying this, but you can check the data yourselves. I will never speak without data. Whenever he has watched the match, we have lost. He replaced Sardar Patel’s name with his own. That time the game did not change, only the name did,” Kharge told a press conference.
The minister broached the topic while chiding the Modi-led Union government for its alleged misplaced priorities, stating the PM has time to meet newlywed celebrities, but not to make any statement on the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena that was sunk by an American nuclear submarine in the Indian Ocean on 4 March.
Kharge said that Modi took the time to meet the newly married Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Devarakonda, wished the Indian side before all matches, but could not even acknowledge the sinking, let alone condemn it.
Kharge, however, is not the first to link Modi’s presence at matches with bad luck.
Several noted political figures, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had suggested that Modi’s presence at such matches brought bad luck.
Earlier this week, Rajya Sabha MP Hussain Dalwai suggested that the final be held in Mumbai, and not Ahmedabad.
“Playing there, keep in mind that Modi is unlucky. We have already lost once. Is it required that we have to face the same experience again?” he said.
Modi had watched the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the very stadium where India, which went largely unchallenged throughout the campaign, suffered a defeat at the hands of Australia.
Speaking at a rally in Rajasthan’s Balotra within days of the final, Gandhi referred to Modi as “Panauti” (Hindi word for a person who brings bad luck).
He picked up the word when the crowd started chanting ‘Panauti’.
“Wahan accha bhala humare ladke world cup jeet jaate aur wahan pe panauti harwa diya (Our boys were doing well and would have won the World Cup. But this Panauti made them lose),” Gandhi had told the rally.
His comments were widely circulated on social media, with the Congress using the term to refer to Modi. It drew sharp criticism from leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A key aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Shravan Kumar, had also at the time said that Modi brings bad luck and should be kept away from auspicious occasions.
Even West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had joined the bandwagon, chiding Modi for “forcing the final” to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium instead of Eden Gardens in Kolkata or Wankhede in Mumbai.
“The Indian team played so well in the tournament that they won all the matches in the World Cup, except the one attended by the sinners,” she said at the time, without naming the PM.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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