BENGALURU, May 8 -- The decision to move this year's Indian Premier League final from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad has set off a political dispute in Karnataka, with opposition leaders accusing the state government of allowing demands for privileged access to overshadow the interests of cricket supporters.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, president of the Janata Dal (Secular) youth wing in Karnataka, on Thursday blamed what he described as an excessive focus on VIP passes and political influence for Bengaluru losing the match. "Congratulations to the state leaders who gifted the IPL final to Ahmedabad," he told reporters.

Nikhil argued that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium had increasingly come to be viewed through the lens of political entitlement rather than ...