Hectic lobbying on eve of BCCI elections

Hectic activity and lobbying was witnessed on the eve of the much-hyped election of the president of the cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India in Madras on Friday.

Both, incumbent A C Muthiah and challenger Jagmohan Dalmiya, an old warhorse, were optimistic of victory, indicating a close finale to the election drama.

While Dalmiya and his men held closed-door meetings, Muthiah, who talked to waiting mediamen, said, "It is unethical for me to predict an outcome for the elections. In a democracy, anything can happen, but the wisdom of the members (voters) will prevail."

Muthiah, who is seeking a third term, said he felt confident as "all the 19 members, who have vowed their support to me, are here for all of you to see". The members had pledged support for Muthiah at a dinner hosted in New Delhi earlier this week.

"We sailed smoothly over all... the hard times that the board has had to face under my presidency. We have done extremely well. We want to bring in professionalism all around," Muthiah said.

Dalmiya, a former BCCI and International Cricket Council president, appeared equally confident when contaced over telephone.

"I am confident of winning; I will not indulge in any numbers game before the elections," he said.

Dalmiya supporters said, "Our leader has not lost an election for over 10 years in the board and we are confident of winning again."

Observing the trends, Professor Ratnakar Shetty of the Mumbai Cricket Association predicted: "It is going to be a close affair."

He recalled the board election in 1997 and said: "In 1997, Dyaneshwar Agashe had 18 votes with him. But the next morning, he lost."

Though Muthiah refused to name his candidates for various other posts, his close associates informed that Saurashtra's Niranjan Shah would be their candidate for the secretary's post, Punjab's M P Pandove for joint secretary and Maharashtra's D C Agashe for the post of treasurer.

The candidates for the post of vice-presidents would be Sharad Pawar (West), Shashank Manohar (Central), N Srinivasan (South), Narhari Amin (East). The candidate for the North would be decided on Saturday morning, they said.

Dalmiya supporters refused to divulge the names of their candidates for the various posts.

The elections on Saturday will also decide the fate of controversial BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele, who is believed to be on the side of Dalmiya.

Related report:
Muthiah claims senior politicians' backing

Mail Cricket Editor