Jaipur, Nov. 27: An enemy’s enemy is a friend.

Union rural development minister C.P. Joshi, known for his proximity to Rahul Gandhi, is set to enter the election fray for the president’s post in the faction-ridden Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) that will be monitored by the Supreme Court.

If he does throw his hat in the ring for the December 7 polls, sources said, Joshi is likely to get support from an unlikely source: the camp of past president Lalit Modi, under fire from the Congress government headed by Ashok Gehlot.

Joshi, a rising star in the Congress, is said to be a threat to chief minister Gehlot.

Sources pointed out that for Modi, a confidant of BJP leader Vasundhara Raje, backing Joshi would make sense as it would neutralise the influence wielded by those close to the chief minister.

Modi’s loyalists have alleged that he is being harassed by Gehlot’s government for his perceived proximity to Raje.

Modi, embroiled in a series of cases in Rajasthan, is believed to be unwilling to contest the association elections during Gehlot’s tenure at the helm.

Sources said though Gehlot and Joshi pose a united front in public, they are in reality political rivals and don’t see eye to eye on many issues.

Moreover Joshi’s rising stature in the Congress high command is a threat to Gehlot, who till now was the party’s only visible national leader from Rajasthan.

Decks for Joshi’s candidature were cleared today after Supreme Court observer Justice (retired) M.N. Kasliwal flashed the green light.

Speaking to The Telegraph from Delhi, Joshi said: “I have just heard that I have been cleared but I have not decided whether to contest or not. I will take the decision in a day or two. But yes, I want that cricket in Rajasthan should not suffer and it should assume greater heights.”

Modi too had been cleared for contesting the RCA polls yesterday. Kasliwal had ruled that elections would be held under the Rajasthan Sports Act, which implied that bylaws added to the constitution to prevent Modi from contesting stand nullified.

The bylaws included that the person has to be the domicile of the state, should not hold a post in any other state association and also should have completed a four-year term in a district association.

Since Modi is not a domicile of Rajasthan and holds the vice-president’s post in Punjab Cricket Association, his candidature was in doubt.

Modi was not available for comment as he is abroad. But his supporters such as Subhash Joshi and Rajendra Singh Rathore were happy that Joshi’s candidature had been cleared and publicly said the minister would be elected unanimously.