RCA Elections: Beyond the ‘BJP vs BJP’ Narrative, A Contest That Tests Cricket’s Democratic Process

The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) elections have become far more than a contest for the top post of the state’s cricketing body. With political families, organisational interests and competing camps all figuring in the electoral conversation, the RCA polls have inevitably acquired a political dimension.

But reducing the entire contest to a simple “BJP vs BJP” battle risks overlooking the larger question: what does the election say about the democratic functioning of the RCA and the future of Rajasthan cricket? The current contest has also been described in political terms , with one side being projected as closer to the government and another being portrayed as representing the sons of prominent BJP leaders. Yet the presence of political families on both sides does not, by itself, establish that the election is a contest between the government and its own leadership.

The more significant question is whether the RCA’s electoral process allows competing contenders to make their case, mobilise support and seek a mandate from the association’s electoral body.

From Uncontested Leadership To A Contested Election

The contrast with the RCA’s previous electoral cycle is significant. In December 2022, Vaibhav Gehlot, son of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, was re-elected as RCA president unopposed after the opposing group withdrew its nominations. All six executive posts were also filled without a contest.

The RCA subsequently became embroiled in a series of controversies, including allegations surrounding its functioning and the political controversy over the so-called “Red Diary” in 2023. In February 2024, Vaibhav Gehlot resigned as RCA president amid a confrontation involving the Rajasthan State Sports Council and the association.

That transition brought Dhananjai Singh Khimsar into a prominent role in the RCA’s interim arrangement. Khimsar was subsequently part of the government-appointed ad-hoc structure overseeing the association during the prolonged transitional period. The significance of this sequence is straightforward: an RCA that had witnessed an uncontested presidential election in 2022 has now reached a stage where competing candidates are actively seeking the mandate of the association’s electoral body. That, in itself, is a substantial change in the organisation’s democratic process.

Why The ‘BJP vs BJP’ Frame Does Not Tell The Entire Story

The political background of the key contenders is an important part of the current RCA conversation. However, the attempt to frame the election simply as a “BJP vs BJP” contest becomes difficult to sustain when the wider electoral process is examined. Brij Kishore Upadhyay is associated with the BJP. D.D. Kumawat, who approached the court over issues concerning the electoral process, is also associated with the BJP. Dhananjai Singh Khimsar, meanwhile, has himself been an active part of the BJP’s organisational and public life.
What this demonstrates is that the contest is not necessarily a confrontation between the BJP and an opposing political camp. Rather, multiple individuals associated with the same political ecosystem have been able to participate in, challenge and contest the electoral process.

That distinction is important. If the BJP wanted to reduce the RCA election to a predetermined political exercise, the presence of competing candidates, internal disagreements and even a court challenge would make little sense. The fact that different individuals have been able to put forward their claims and contest the process indicates that the electoral space has remained open to competing positions.

The political background of the candidates therefore provides context, but it does not by itself determine the nature of the contest or the legitimacy of any individual candidate. The more relevant question is what each contender brings to the RCA in terms of experience, organisational work, cricket administration and the ability to represent the interests of Rajasthan cricket.

Therefore, describing one side simply as the “government-backed panel” and the other as a “panel of BJP leaders’ sons” may make for an easy political headline, but it does not fully explain the institutional contest taking place inside the RCA.

The Khimsar Factor: A Role That Predates The Election

This is where Dhananjai Singh Khimsar’s RCA journey becomes relevant. Khimsar’s association with the state cricket body did not begin with the current election. In March 2024, following Vaibhav Gehlot’s resignation, Khimsar was chosen by the RCA executive committee as interim president. At the time, he was also serving as president of the Nagaur District Cricket Association. He publicly spoke about engaging with the Sports Council and BCCI and emphasised that players and cricket should not suffer because of the administrative crisis.

Khimsar has also emerged as one of the longest-serving continuous members of the RCA’s ad-hoc administrative structure during the association’s prolonged transitional phase. Despite multiple changes in the composition and leadership of the ad-hoc committee between 2024 and 2026, Khimsar continued to remain part of the administrative structure.

In 2025, when a new ad-hoc committee was constituted under convenor Deendayal Kumawat, Khimsar was again among its members. By June 2026, Khimsar was still serving on the ad-hoc committee and was involved in the formation of the RCA’s senior and junior men’s selection committees. The association said the committees were being constituted to identify players for Rajasthan’s various BCCI domestic competitions.

Khimsar was also entrusted with representing the Rajasthan Cricket Association at the BCCI Annual General Meeting. Taken together, these roles establish that Khimsar’s association with the RCA is not a development that began with the present election. 

A Prolonged Transition Has Made The Election More Significant

The RCA has spent a considerable period operating through ad-hoc arrangements rather than a normally functioning elected executive. That prolonged transition has itself become a subject of criticism and internal disagreement. The ad-hoc committee witnessed repeated changes, internal disputes and disagreements over the functioning of the association.

At different points, Khimsar was among the members who challenged decisions of the ad-hoc leadership, including disputes over the functioning of selection committees and the decision-making process. Those disagreements show that his role in the RCA has not simply been that of a passive committee member; he has also been an active participant in internal debates over how the association should function.

This history gives the present election an additional dimension. It is not merely about who occupies the president’s chair. It is also about whether Rajasthan cricket moves from a prolonged phase of interim administration towards a stable, elected structure.

The Court Has Now Become Part Of The Electoral Story

The immediate outcome of the election remains unresolved. The presidential contest was held with Dhananjai Singh Khimsar and Brij Kishore Upadhyay as the principal contenders after other candidates withdrew. However, the counting of votes was halted following a Supreme Court directive concerning petitions relating to the electoral process, including issues surrounding the electoral roll and the voting eligibility of three newly created districts.

Of the 38 eligible voters, 35 voted, while the three disputed districts did not participate. The ballot boxes were subsequently sealed and deposited in the collectorate treasury. Therefore, any attempt to declare a political winner at this stage would be premature. The result remains subject to the judicial process.

The Larger Question Is About Rajasthan Cricket 

The RCA has gone through leadership changes, administrative disputes, controversies and a prolonged ad-hoc phase. The present election provides an opportunity to return the organisation to a clearly elected executive structure, provided the electoral and legal questions surrounding the process are resolved.

That is why the “BJP vs BJP” framing, while politically attractive, does not capture the entire picture. The more substantive story is about an association emerging from a prolonged period of administrative uncertainty, with competing contenders seeking legitimacy through an electoral process.

For an election that has increasingly been viewed through the lens of political affiliations and family backgrounds, there is perhaps another aspect that deserves equal attention: the individual record that each contender has built within Rajasthan cricket.

In Khimsar’s case, that record did not begin with the announcement of his candidature. It was built during the RCA’s most prolonged period of transition, through administrative responsibilities, disagreements, and continued involvement in the association’s functioning.
The final verdict on the election will come through the electoral and judicial process. But beyond the result, the contest has already raised a larger question : when the politics surrounding a candidate becomes louder than the work that preceded his candidature, does the political label end up obscuring the more important story?

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