Vadodara: Former Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) secretary Ajit Lele, who is supporting the Revival Group, sent a defamation notice to Sanjay Patel, who is campaigning for the Royal Satyamev Jayate Group led by Samarjitsinh Gaekwad and Dr Darshan Banker in this election.“I received a defamation notice from Lele over the corruption allegations I made against the BCA management. I reiterate that corruption happened in the association. The defamation notice is nothing but a threatening tactic, as the Revival Group is nervous,” Patel, who is also an ex-BCA secretary, told TOI.While addressing the candidates and supporters of the Royal Satyamev Jayate Group on Wednesday evening, Patel said that he roped in the best lawyers and he will give a suitable reply to Lele soon. Lele also confirmed that he sent a defamation notice to Patel over his allegations of corruption in the Kotambi international stadium project.Lele’s legal team claimed that Patel also commented, “Bogus claims; fraud in the stadium is a bigger issue. The Revival Group is responsible for the Facebook post of Revival31,” and that he also forwarded a post alleging corruption in BCA from his phone.Both the Revival and Royal Satyamev Jayate Groups stepped up their campaign over the last few days, and they also organised a gathering and dinner for their supporters on Wednesday evening in the city.While royal scion Samarjitsinh Gaekwad took a dig at the Revival Group by raising the issue of poor wickets at the Kotambi stadium, he also said that the poll date was kept on an auspicious day to ensure that fewer members turned up to vote. “It’s a no-brainer that you have to vote out the Revival Group,” Gaekwad said.The Revival Group candidates appealed to the BCA members to vote for their group, citing all the development activities they did, including building an international stadium and hosting a series of international matches in the city.
