Tweets worship Lalit Modi
By Bala Shah

Indian cricketing boss Lalit Modi is credited with  much of the success of IPL and Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20). Lalit Modi is man who can ensure the success of any cricketing competition.  Apart from his illustrious cricketing achievements, he is also a successful businessman.  His managerial achievements are on par with successful tech leaders like Narayana Murthy.

But unlike Mr. Murthy,  Mr. Lalit Modi is not shy of publicity.  And his aides and chamchas ensure he is always in the limelight.

The latest example is the Twitter contest run during CLT20 where the 30 winning Twitter users got the opportunity to watch the CLT20 cricket final on Oct 23.  The Twitter users did not have to send their contesting tweets to the CLT20 Twitter account but to Lalit Modi’s personal Twitter account – LalitKModi. And apart from cricket questions, the Twitter contestants were expected to answer : “What’s the first thing you’d say to Mr. Modi if you met him?’

There are about 1300 people following Lalit Modi on Twitter

The 30 Twitter winners were announced on Diwali Day, Oct 17. 

Each Twitter winner to this CLT20 competition was told on Oct 17: “We're now less than a week away from the ultimate clash of champions and we have great news for you. You are one of the lucky 30 to have won special invitations to the big final in Hyderabad on October 23. All thanks to the wonderful tweets that you have been sending in to CLT20 Chairman Lalit Modi.”

How did the Twitter contest winners feel when they watch the CLT20 final with Mr. Modi?  Most of them heaped lavish praises on Mr. Modi all of which were dutifully reported by the CLT20 website.  Every paragraph praises Mr. Modi.

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The 30 winners of the Twitter contest held by clt20.com were treated to an once-in-a-lifetime experience. They got to watch the final of the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 with Chairman and Commissioner of CLT20, Lalit Modi. The winners' day was made even more special when they got the chance to meet Deccan Chargers' skipper Adam Gilchrist, thanks to a special gesture from Lalit Modi.

Humauyun Baaz, who flew in all the way from Dubai after winning the contest said, "I have come all the way to meet Mr. Modi. I have no doubt about it that he is a visionary and undoubtedly one of the best cricket administrators we have seen. He made us feel special and made it a point to meet each one of us personally." 

Puneet, who was cheering Trinidad & Tobago gushed, "It is a great experience! Coming here and watching cricket is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Meeting a person like Mr. Modi means a lot to me and I'll cherish it all my life. We requested him to invite Adam Gilchrist and have him sit with us and you won't believe it, Mr. Modi obliged! We sat alongside Gilchrist - it was amazing.  He likes to do unexpected things. What more can I say? Our wishes have come true today."

Santosh P, another contest winner, said, "I am one of the lucky guys who got the opportunity to watch the Bangalore game and then got a pass to watch the final here. I was looking forward to meeting Mr. Modi and I had made this trip to meet him. I must say that it is because of Mr. Modi that I got interested in Twenty20 cricket. If one checks my Twitter account then one will realise that I have been a great supporter of T20s."

"It has been awesome. The hospitality was great and sitting beside Mr. Modi - the feeling it yet to sink in. It was so sweet of him to come down and watch a bit of the game with all the winners. The entire team of clt20.com has been very supportive throughout. When I had initially suggested that the site run a contest, I never thought it would become like this," a visibly delighted Hrish Thota said.
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The leaders of some regional Indian political parties could learn a lesson or two on how to use Micro blogging tool Twitter to build up a personality cult. What next? A museum dedicated to Mr. Modi?