New Delhi: After the sudden passing away of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya, all stakeholders have started making their moves. An out of bound N Srinivasan hurried to Nagpur on Wednesday night and met Sharad Pawar to discuss their respective prospects.
Srinivasan, who was advised by the Supreme Court to avoid meddling with matters of cricket following his unresolved conflict of interest issues, is astute enough and will not join the fray for the BCCI's top post. But being said that, the International Cricket Council (ICC) president will never be out of the picture. And he is also flexing his muscles, like others, to choose BCCI's interim president.
In such a scenario, it's safe to assume that his reported meeting with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Pawar was on the lines of pre-poll discussions as in any other high-stake elections. If Srinivasan manages to coax Pawar and form an alliance, it will be very difficult for any other group or party to beat them.
And by installing an ally to the power, in the meantime, Srini can cool his heels until a favourble moment arrives for him to stake his claim to the throne. It's worth noting that Srinivasan is currently awaiting an apex court green signal to attend BCCI's Special General Meeting, which is expected to be held within a month.
Further reports, quoting Vidharbha Cricket Association sources confirmed that, Srinivasan was in indeed in Vidarbha to discuss strategy for electing the new BCCI chief with Pawar. The heavyweights met at NCP leader Praful Patel's residence late last night residence in Nagpur late last night.
The National Congress Party president, who is touring drought-hit Vidarbha, has emerged as one of the favourites to fill in the void left by the demise of Dalmiya. But he is likely to face strong challenges from Rajeev Shukla and Amitabh Choudhary.
Interestingly, Pawar was among the first to raise his voice against Srinivasan after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was implicated in the Inidan Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing and betting scandal. Srinivasan had to eventually step aside as BCCI chief after being chided by the Supreme Court.
Following the BCCI constitution, board secretary Anurag Thakur is likely to announce the date of special general meeting very soon to create ways to find a new president. The rule says, in case of the death of the incumbent president, the SGM should be held within 15 days, giving three weeks' notice to the affiliate units.
