N. Srinivasan The Kingmaker After Jagmohan Dalmiya's Death
Have we seen the latest N. Srinivasan masterstroke in Indian cricket? The signs are all there. After it became clear that Sharad Pawar and Rajeev Shukla could well be the front-runners for the post of BCCI president, the East Zone, whose turn it is to propose the candidate chose to pull a rabbit out of the hat.
Sharad Pawar and Rajeev Shukla are the two big names who are in the race for the post of the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. But now there's a twist in the tale. The six associations of the East Zone, whose turn it is to propose a candidate till 2017, don't want to propose anyone from outside the zone. Their pick is Amitabh Choudhary from Jharkhand, the current joint secretary of the BCCI.
Amitabh Choudhary is the president of the Jharkhand Cricket Association, a former IPS officer and also a member of BJP's Jharkhand unit. Choudhary meets the basic criteria to be the next BCCI President, having attended two annual general meetings as the Jharkhand Cricket boss. (BCCI May Appoint Interim President)
What this means is that if the other zones want someone else as president, like Rajeev Shukla or Sharad Pawar, they will have to try to get the support of at least three East Zone units. One to propose, and two to second their candidate. And that will not be easy. (Jagmohan Dalmiya Dies | Friends and Foes Pay Tribute)
The man who could well hold all the cards in this scenario is N. Srinivasan. According to sources, the former BCCI chief enjoys the support of most of the East Zone members. In fact he controls nine of the total 29 BCCI votes. (Watch: What's Next for BCCI?)
As things stand right now, it's Srinivasan vs Pawar. And Srinivasan could stop Pawar from getting the requisite support from the East Zone. The Tamil Nadu strongman could well make a backdoor entry once again barely 17 months after he vacated the post of president. Though, the top politicans are testing the waters, sources have told NDTV that Arun Jaitley will have a major say in who becomes the next president of the Indian cricket Board.
The selection of the next BCCI president though will have to wait for now, since the Supreme Court has to first decide whether Srinivasan's conflict of interest still exists. (In Jagmohan Dalmiya's Backyard, a Bitter Power Struggle is Looming)