Rajan Bala, one of a rare kind

 When a disruptor becomes a Steward 

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

It is ironic that a person who was responsible for every racing season being affected by strikes for a decade when he was the office-bearer of the Karnataka Race Horse Owners Association and spewed venom on the Bangalore Turf Club and questioned the integrity of the authorities on a TV channel and even called for an enquiry by the government agencies into the balance sheet of the club, charms his way to becoming a member of the club and even gets elected as Steward of the same Club. One cannot but be critical of the BTC members for not exercising due diligence.

 

In the history of racing, only one Derby has been called off because of the strike by the stakeholders (racehorse owners and trainers). Who was behind this? You guessed it right. Mr Aravind Raghavan. The question that is doing the rounds is whether such a disruptor can ever be an asset to an institution. Doubtful because such people will be agenda driven. If things don’t work the way they want, they can turn disruptors again. They tend to form a group of their own to serve their own interests. Sadly, many of the committee members too have fallen prey to this so-called ``intelligent’’ disruptor.

 

Aravind was charge-sheeted by the turf club management headed by Harinder Shetty for causing riots and disrupting racing along with the ex-chairman Vinod Sivappa who was then heading the KROA as President. For lack of quorum, the Managing Committee could not take any decision on the detailed enquiry conducted and the matter was thus buried as the term of that committee was coming to an end and they had no time to schedule another meeting. The succeeding committees let the matter die a slow death.

 

As a Director of the Stable Welfare Society, there were charges that during his helm, Rs 45 lakhs was drawn from the bank in one month’s time through self-cheques and that the accounts of the society were not properly presented. This has been highlighted in the last annual report of the KROA. But surprisingly there was no enquiry by the club which takes the responsibility for transferring the horse owners’ money to society.

 

The Stable Welfare Society is formed in such a way that the owners and trainers who are the contributors to the fund can only be associate members and they have no right to elect the directors of the society. It is only the nominees of Aravind who find a place. Aravind has not hesitated to use society to bully the trainers and even the club in the past and had even instigated a strike in a leading trainer’s stable, resulting in the trainer being unable to race his wards in the races. The matter reached the courts but it was resolved through mediation by the Managing Committee of the Club as the issue had serious repercussions for the club. With all the syces getting salary from the Stable Welfare Society, they become deemed employees of the society and not of the trainers who employ them or the owners who pay their salary. It is a piquant situation where the real employer is not the employer!

 

The turf club is facing problems on many fronts. When people like Aravind can dictate the narrative, things can only get worse because he believes in confrontation and asserting might even if it is against the interests of the institution. Ego for him is bigger than the well-being of the institution. Last season, he tried to restore the license of an ex-trainer who had been repeatedly handed long suspensions for his infractions. He had convinced many of his colleagues on the board to toe his line. It was the intervention of the Principal Secretary, Finance, ex-officio Steward of the club and also the licensing authority who wrote to the board advising them not to get into any controversy by taking decisions that may boomerang played as spoilsport to his agenda. Even now, the moment any jockey or a trainer gets into trouble, they make a beeline to his office pleading for support. He has been able to manipulate in such a way that he and his office have become power centres in BTC politics. He is vindictive and at the slightest opportunity, will attempt to settle old scores.

 

From being an insignificant second tote punter to an office-bearer of the KROA to becoming a Steward, Aravind is a perfect example of how one can manipulate the system to move up the ladder. People don’t change whatever positions they hold. They simply find new ways. Can a leopard change the spots?