Ever since the floodlights on one of the towers went off during the India-Sri Lanka One-Day match on December 24, and the episode kicked off a political storm involving the Jagmohan Dalmiya-led CAB administration, the Calcutta Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), the state Public Works Department (PWD), Kolkata Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti and the state government.

After a week of blame game, state PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami today said Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is seized of the issue. Incidentally, a day earlier, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had accused the state government and the city police of politicking over the floodlight fiasco.

“I had a discussion with the chief minister. All the four parties involved - CAB, CESC, PWD and Kolkata Police - have been asked to submit reports to the CM on January 8. He will go through the reports and decide on a course of action,” Goswami said.

Yesterday, after the city police chief blamed the CAB administration for Thursday’s floodlight failure, Mamata accused the chief minister of trying to capture the CAB office, which is based at the Eden Gardens.

The Trinamool chief even alleged that the city police commissioner’s post has become politicised and that Chakraborti has the blessings of Bhattacharjee in his bid for the next CAB president’s post.

Her comment has pitchforked Mamata straight into Maidan cricket politics and makes her another addition to the list of political heavyweights who have taken an interest in cricket administration, bringing back memories of Narendra Modi becoming the Gujarat Cricket Association president (GCA) last year.

After Subhas Chakraborty’s demise last year, Dalmiya lost a key ally in Bengal’s political household, but was only happy to note that Mamata has filled up the vacuum, quietly but assuredly taking Dalmiya’s side, and now vehemently defending the cricket administrator when he is facing the Kolkata police commissioner’s ire.

A key CAB insider said it’s quite some time now that Mamata has been moving towards Dalmiya & Co. “The CM doesn’t like Dalmiya. And Mamata is obviously on the lookout for backing people who are at the receiving end of the state government’s interference. So, this Mamata-Dalmiya partnership was waiting to happen,” the source said.