Shashank Manohar Appointed BCCI President for the Second Time

A new era has begun in the BCCI with Shashank Manohar being appointed unopposed as the President for the second time. His appointment was ratified in the Special General Meeting of the BCCI in Mumbai on Sunday. (HIGHLIGHTS)

All the six units of East Zone unanimously proposed Manohar's candidature for the president's post, reflecting Srinivasan's diminishing hold in Board's power politics. A BCCI by-election needed only one proposer from the zone which is electing the president and it was the East's turn this time. Manohar got the nod from all the six associations and was the lone nomination. (Shashank Manohar-Anurag Thakur Not In Favour of Pawar-Srinivasan Alliance)

Mr. Shashank Manohar elected #BCCIPresident pic.twitter.com/ynbqlpnFGh

- BCCI (@BCCI) October 4, 2015

Speaking to the media after his appointment, Manohar thanked the fans for making BCCI what it is. "BCCI is a huge brand in itself. Without the support of the fans, it would not have gotten big." He outlined the strategy the BCCI will adopt in tackling corruption and conflict of interest issues. (N. Srinivasan Stays Away from Shashank Manohar's Crowning Glory)

"BCCI will appoint ethics officer independent of Board to look into complaints of conflict of interest. The Board will also educate the players in order to wipe out corruption from the game," Manohar said.

Manohar also added that the Board is also determined to develop women's cricket and stated that the main priority of the BCCI was to ensure that the 2016 World Twenty20 in India was to be conducted in the best possible manner.

This will be Manohar's second stint as BCCI President, having taken over from Sharad Pawar in 2008/09. It lasted for three years and it ended in 2011 when N. Srinivasan was appointed as the BCCI President. 

However, Srinivasan's tenure was marred by the Indian Premier League scandal of 2013 and he "stepped aside" in the wake of revelations that his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was involved in betting. Manohar was made the interim president when Srinivasan stepped aside and Jagmohan Dalmiya made a spectacular comeback as president in March 2015. 

However, the death of Dalmiya brought about an intense power struggle in the BCCI. Many pitted Srinivasan to come back into the fold but two factors changed the scenario.

First, Srinivasan's camp lost steam after Vidarbha's Manohar and Ajay Shirke of Maharashtra, both Pawar confidants, objected to a compromise with the beleaguered Tamil Nadu Cricket Association boss.

Second, Manohar, a senior Nagpur lawyer, was deemed as an individual who had a clean image and he was backed by the Anurag Thakur camp. Manohar was also accepted by the majority of East Zone units, who were given a chance to propose a presidential candidate till 2017. It was reported that Sourav Ganguly, the newly-elected president of Cricket Association of Bengal, would propose Manohar's name and either Tripura or Assam could second.

Manohar's appointment as BCCI President was a mere formality before the SGM as he enjoyed the support of several major BCCI factions. He emerged as a consensus candidate after he was reportedly backed by the Anurag Thakur-Arun Jaitley (BJP) faction. "Manohar is our consensus candidate," Thakur addressed the media.