N Srinivasan: To stay or not to stay, the Numbers Game

N. Srinivasan, chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, seemed rather unperturbed as he stepped out or his morning walk on Thursday in a grey T shirt and shorts. He has made it clear that he will entertain no demands for his resignation, even as the ranks of those seeking that he quit over the spot-fixing scandal swells by the hour.

There is, sources say, reason for his being sanguine as a storm rages around him. Mr Srinivasan is an elected functionary and to have him removed as BCCI chief, at least three-fourths of the 30 full members - each representing a cricket body - of the board must vote against him. (Also read: Meiyappan and CSK, the three possible outcomes)

That too is not a simple matter of just gathering and asking him to step down. To remove him, at least 10 members have to make a written submission to convene a Special General Meeting of the board. Voting would then take place and even if eight full members are with Srinivasan, he would stay on. As of now, sources say, he has at least 11 members who support him.  And at least nine others are reportedly undecided.

This is how the board is currently split:

Pro Srinivasan: 11 bodies - Odisha, Jharkhand, Haryana, J&K, Saurashtra, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Anti-Srinivasan: 9 bodies - Assam, Tripura, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Baroda, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala.

Undecided: 10 bodies - Bengal, Mumbai, Cricket Club of India, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, National Cricket Club, Services, Universities and Railways.

The Board also has three associate and as many affiliate members, but they have no voting rights. In other matters the BCCI chief has the 31st vote, a casting vote, which, however, would not apply if members were voting to impeach him.

Mr Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan has been arrested by the Mumbai Police on charges of betting during the sixth edition of IPL that ended last week. His critics say that makes his continuing as BCCI chief is untenable.

Mr Srinivasan argues that the BCCI has set up a three-member inquiry commission into the matter and his assurance that he will stay away from that process is enough. The commission will look into the charges against three arrested players from the Rajasthan Royals IPL franschise and also investigate Mr Meiyappan's alleged role.

Mr Meiyappan is an "honorary member" of the Chennai Super Kings team management. Mr Srinivasan's India Cements owns the IPL side Chennai Super Kings (CSK).