Mahto: At ease with sports and politics

Ranchi, May 16: ?I will wipe out Naxalism through games and sports.?

None of the home ministers of the seven Naxalite-hit states in the country, other than Sudesh Mahto, would have dared to speak with such confidence.

This is because he believes that games have the power to unite people across communities and religions.

Even two days after he lost to Amitabh Choudhary ? an inspector-general of police ? in the state cricket board?s elections in Bokaro, the young minister says: ?Let?s talk cricket or National Games. Not about policing in the districts, as I know how to curb rebels.?

The minister, who has often been in the limelight for pushing the government into tight corners, gets things of his choice done.

Even during his student days, when he had joined active politics, he had been equally aggressive in getting his demands fulfilled.

He is one of the lucky few who became an MLA at 25 and a cabinet minister in less than a year after being elected to the Assembly.

Mahto, who does not remember the budgetary allocations for the sports department in the current fiscal, however, says there has been an increase of Rs 32 crore, compared to the last financial year for the construction of Games Village.

Mahto, who has represented the state in seven-a-side football tournament after becoming the minister, has one thing on his mind: development of sports infrastructure in Jharkhand.

Although he does not know what games Jhanu Hansda or Dola Banerjee are associated with, Mahto does not think twice before offering them jobs in the police department.

Similarly, he has no idea how many nodal officers are working in each district to promote games and sports.

Mahto has formulated rewards for medal winners in national and international events.

?Fixed? sports quotas in job recruitment and the proposed Indian Reserve Battalion are also his brain child. He also intends to organise sports melas in districts soon.

The minister, a graduate from Ranchi College, had attended the under-19 football training camp at Salt Lake, Calcutta.

At his native place in Silli, he runs a sports training centre which has produced half a dozen participants to C.K. Naidu Trophy and East Bengal under-19 matches.

He laments he could not find an opportunity to play during his college days due to the Jharkhand movement.

But his urge of sportsmanship is incredible, as he said during the campaign for JSCA polls: ?My mornings are meant for cricket and evenings dedicated to football. I do office work during the day and meet people in the night.?

Rarely seen without his cap, Mahto admits that he, too, is learning new things everyday on both pitches ? politics and sports.

He even thinks of trying his hand at a different but quite familiar area: constructing a film development corporation in the state to promote Nagpuri films.

If sports is his base, politics is the future Mahto wants to belong to, but cautiously.

?Power politics has its own constraints. It is very difficult to find trustworthy partners,? he quips.