The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Close battle on the cards

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Wednesday, Sep 29, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Close battle on the cards

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, SEPT. 28. It is election time in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The 75th annual general meeting to be held here on Wednesday will see a high-profile contest for the president's post in the country's richest sports body. Facing each other are the Union minister of agriculture, Sharad Pawar, and the Haryana Cricket Association secretary, Ranbir Singh Mahendra.

Till the middle of last week, it looked like the AGM would be a normal affair till the Maratha strongman threw his hat into the ring. The outgoing president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, head of the ruling faction, backs Mr. Mahendra, one of the Board's vice-presidents. A veteran leader, Mr. Pawar draws his strength from his experience of being in politics for several years.

"When I contest I contest to win," declared Mr. Pawar on the eve of the AGM. "I make sure I have enough votes to sail through," he said. His rival Mr. Mahendra has been a part of the Board for nearly 30 years. He has served the Board as its secretary and as vice-president. "I am a loyal servant of the Board. I have the support of the members," Mr. Mahendra said.

This is the turn of the North Zone to nominate the presidential candidate. The Punjab Cricket Association is putting up Mr. Pawar, the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association.

Pawar has been in the city since Monday morning to test the waters. He has been meeting a number of Board officials and other representatives to gauge the mood. The Pawar camp too is optimistic of getting the numbers right. In a house of 31, provided all the voters are eligible, the rival group needs at least 16 to upstage the ruling group.

The vote banks

Mr. Pawar's strength is the West Zone. He is expected to gain at least three votes from the North, including that of Punjab. There are three institutional votes from Railways, Services and Indian Universities. Both groups are seeking the three votes where personal equations will decide which way they will go. The ruling group's main vote bank is the South and the East. How much it can muster from other zones will decide the outcome of elections.

The Pawar camp is banking upon the nine states controlled by the Congress. And most of the associations are with the ruling faction. The ruling faction is likely to retain Mr. S.K. Nair and Mr. Jyoti Bajpai as secretary and treasurer respectively. The joint secretary's post may see a change with Brijesh Patel coming in place of Ratnakar Shetty, who is from the Mumbai Cricket Association. In case Patel is not interested, Bengal's Gautam Dasgupta may get a chance. The elevation of Ranbir Singh will mean a vacancy in the vice-president's post.

From the other side, Saurashtra's Niranjan Shah is the likely choice for the secretary and Punjab's M.P. Pandov for the joint secretary post. Efforts are being made to wean away a Southern state with the promise of the treasurer's post.

Wednesday's AGM, like previous occasions, may throw up another a no contest with either group backing out after finding itself in a no-win situation. The other possiblity could be a compromise, which has been ruled out at this point.

There are 14 items listed in the agenda with the elections occupying the sixth slot. Among other things, the AGM will also decide the BCCI's representative to the ICC and ACC meetings, the telecast rights issue and the progress of the National Cricket Academy. The house will also discuss the matter relating to affiliation/promotion, disaffiliation and readmission, if any.

Meanwhile, BCCI president, Mr. Dalmiya, said the decision of the BCCI's marketing committee would be intimated to the Supreme Court where the case was being heard with regard to Board's cancellation of telecast rights to Zee Teleflims. "I have nothing to say on the decision taken by the marketing committee. Whatever decision we have taken today will be conveyed first to the Supreme Court,'' he informed newsmen.

The Board's marketing committee had deliberated in two sessions after the first held in the morning was adjourned.

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