The decision to move this year’s Indian Premier League final from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad has sparked a political row in Karnataka, with opposition leaders accusing the state government of allowing demands for privileged access to overshadow the interests of cricket supporters.
Nikhil Coomaraswamy, president of Karnataka’s Janata Dal (Secular) youth wing, on Thursday blamed what he described as excessive focus on VIP passes and political influence for Bengaluru’s loss of the match. “Congratulations to the state leaders who dedicated the Indian Premier League final to Ahmedabad,” he told reporters.
Nikhil argued that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was increasingly being viewed through the lens of political entitlement rather than as a venue for cricket fans. He said pressure from elected representatives seeking free tickets and special seating has damaged the city’s image as a host of major sporting events.
According to him, some influential figures treated the stadium “like a personal box office,” undermining the prestige associated with hosting the final of the tournament. He said that the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s decision should warn governments against interfering in sports administration.
The comments came on the heels of the Board of Control for Cricket in India announcing on Wednesday that Ahmedabad will host the Indian Premier League final on May 31, replacing Bengaluru, which was originally earmarked as the host venue. The board also appointed the first qualifier for Dharamsala and two more play-offs for New Chandigarh.
The BCCI said in a statement that the change was necessary due to “certain requirements from the association and local authorities” that fall outside the scope of its established guidelines and protocols, although it did not provide further details.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara rejected claims that the change of venue was linked to legislators receiving permits for the match. He maintained that there were no complaints from IPL, Royal Challengers Bengaluru or Karnataka State Cricket Association regarding police, security or match arrangements in Bengaluru. “There were five matches here and there was not even a single complaint about security,” he said.
Parameshwara instead cited commercial considerations. He said the Chinnaswamy Stadium’s capacity of about 33,000 meant that after allocating tickets to sponsors, teams and VIP categories, only about 25,000 tickets were left available for sale. “Since it wouldn’t work commercially, they might have decided to move the match to Ahmedabad, which has a capacity of 1,000 seats,” he said.
He added that discussions about stadium capacity had been ongoing for some time, although the Karnataka State Cricket Association argued that the conference would prefer to host the defending champions’ ground for the opening and final matches. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the current IPL champions.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar similarly denied that free tickets for legislators played a role in the decision, saying Ahmedabad’s larger stadium was likely the deciding factor.
The controversy has led to renewed interest in the relationship between politics and access to high-level sporting events in Karnataka. In March, Shivakumar announced that each MLA would get three free tickets for the IPL and two free tickets for international matches, with an option to purchase two more, after discussions with KSCA officials.
The announcement drew criticism and came in the wake of complaints raised by legislators from multiple parties over the seating arrangements at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Speaker UT Khader later asked the government to ensure that every MLA gets four VIP tickets during matches.
Legislators from the Congress, BJP and JD(S) have all approached the KSCA for clearances, those aware of the development said.
