Srinivasan set to be elected unopposed

Unruffled by criticism and adverse observations of the Supreme Court, a defiant N Srinivasan is all set to be elected unopposed as BCCI president for a third year even as two vice-presidents were on Saturday unceremoniously dumped ahead of the Board’s AGM on Sunday.  Srinivasan was the lone presidential candidate put forward by the South Zone, from where he got the proposer and the seconder.

While Srinivasan’s nomination was on expected lines, there was some interesting drama which unfolded during the nominations for the other posts. Sudhir Dabir, vice-president from the central zone and his west zone colleague Niranjan Shah were removed from their positions even though both were eligible for extension. MCA president Ravi Savant replaced Shah from west zone, while senior Congress leader and union minister Rajeev Shukla took Dabir’s position from the central zone.

Another political heavyweight, Arun Jaitley, relinquished the vice-president’s position due to his political commitments and was replaced by his Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) colleague Sneh Bansal. While Dabir is considered close to former BCCI chief and Srinivasan’s adversary Shashank Manohar, Shah is perceived to be a confidante of another former Board head Sharad Pawar, someone who harbours the ambition to upset Srinivasan’s applecart. Haryana Cricket Association chief Anirudh Chaudhary has been nominated for the post of treasurer, which was to become vacant after Savant is formally made vice-president on Sunday.

‘I don’t want to politicise the whole issue by making any comments. Whatever you have heard is true,’ Dabir said. Cricket Association of Bengal veteran Chitrak Mitra and HCA president and former India off-spinner Shivlal Yadav were game with a year’s extension. But the spotlight would be firmly on Srinivasan, who can only resume his duties once the Supreme Court gives its final verdict on the case filed against his candidature by the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma.

There is a possibility that Srinivasan might again have to appoint Jagmohan Dalmiya as the working head of the Board but it is unlikely that the president-in-exile will give any additional powers, including signing authorities, to the shrewd Kolkatan.