CHENNAI: A day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s post went vacant following the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya, grave discussions within the board to find a successor have already gathered steam.
Though it is not clear who will be the next BCCI chief, whispers within the board suggest that former president Sharad Pawar and IPL head Rajeev Shukla are prime contenders for the post. But as things stand, none from the East Zone would be considered.
Most of the BCCI top brass assembled for the last rites of Dalmiya in Kolkata on Monday, and though their hot lines were busy since Sunday night to choose a suitable candidate, a concrete decision has been kept muted for now. But one understands that the two factions within the board — Pawar and N Srinivasan — were already in a huddle to outwit the other.
Srinivasan’s camp comprising treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary and joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhary went to the Eden Gardens together and so were his trusted allies. The case was no different for Pawar as he had former board president Shashank Manohar and Maharashtra Cricket Association head Ajay Shirke for company.
With this unexpected twist in a board that is already embroiled in controversies and legal tussle, the feeling among the board members is to find an easy solution without an election.
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At the moment it is Pawar and Shukla who are being considered. The feeling among the members is that there are no powerful candidates from the East who is acceptable to everyone. The general mood is not to have an election and instead go for a candidate unanimously backed by all.
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-a highly-placed official in the board told Express.
Going by board insiders, an emergent working committee meeting might be called in 15 days, following which a 21-day countdown will begin for the Special General Body meeting, which would select the president.
However, there are confusions over this as some of the members are in a dilemma whether to summon an SGM straightaway or to go for a working committee meet first.
Though it is East Zone’s turn to nominate the president, none from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura and Assam might be in contention. What remains to be seen is whether Pawar will get the backing of Srinivasan’s faction.
The two have been at loggerheads in recent times and with the majority of the East Zone members firmly behind the Chennai strongman, it would be interesting to see if Pawar gets enough backing.
Source : TNIE