CHENNAI: Once Jagmohan Dalmiya had his way, the BCCI drama is about minor placings! The posts of secretary, treasurer and joint secretary came up for discussion late into Saturday’s marathon parleys featuring top BCCI members.
After the dust settled, it emerged Brijesh Patel and Sanjay Patel are frontrunners for the secretary’s post from what can be called the ruling group. Anirudh Chaudhry is tipped to stay treasurer, while Jharkhand’s Amitabh Chaudhary is likely to replace Anurag Thakur as joint secretary.
There are unconfirmed claims Thakur isn’t happy with the vice-president’s post offered. Till late in the evening, a section of members felt he was ready to contest. Deadline for submitting papers expires at 4pm and if Thakur takes the plunge, it remains to be seen whether he is the only one. Names of former office bearers Niranjan Shah and Ajay Shirke were heard as other candidates from the Sharad Pawar group, although nobody confirmed they would contest.
“After conceding the president’s post to Dalmiya, the Srinivasan camp wanted their men in other posts. East Zone members saw sense in that, provided one more post came to the region and settled for the Jharkhand representative,” a source told Express, adding whether elections take place will depend on Thakur. East Zone members nominate president this year and if Chaudhary of Jharkhand gets a post, their importance will be acknowledged.
Thakur, BJP MP from Himachal and younger than most BCCI members, has been in the board for over 10 years. He was close to Dalmiya when Pawar defeated their candidate Ranbir Singh Mahendra in 2005. He fell in prominence but worked his way into the ruling side and had become an important figure, which was rewarded by a post in 2013.
“He was close to Dalmiya. Equations have changed. Thakur may have Pawar’s support and contest. That apart, things have been handled well. Most stakeholders are satisfied,” said a source. Instances of someone winning against the ruling group in BCCI are rare. Apart from members and former president Shashank Manohar, Aditya Verma and Subodhkant Sahai were also seen at the hotel on Saturday.