Former BCCI president Manohar may return as board chief after hectic talks
“SHASHANK Manohar is our unanimous choice”, Anurag Thakur, BCCI Secretary, ended all speculation on Tuesday afternoon even as he announced BCCI’s Special General Meeting (SGM) on October 4 in Mumbai to elect the next Board President. Before going overseas, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur told media at Palam Ground in New Delhi that Srinivasan will be allowed to vote although he would not be allowed to participate in the meeting.
The latest developments may just deal a final blow to Tamil Nadu strongman whose influence in the board has diminished since the last election.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined a plea by the BCCI seeking recall of its order barring the cricketing body’s former president N.Srinivasan from contesting its election so long he was in a situation of conflict of interest situation as an owner of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Jagmohan Dalmiya’s demise left the post vacant. As it stands, the numbers are not on his side, with the Pawar-Thakur alliance claiming 20 of the 29 votes in the board. As reported by this paper yesterday, the SGM will be held in Mumbai on October 4.
Manohar emerged as a consensus candidate among East Zone units whose turn it is to nominate a president till 2017.
Srinivasan has based his plea on perjury charges against Thakur for the “false affidavit” and “plethora of misleading” statements. When The Tribune contacted Srinivasan, he refused to comment on Thakur’s revelation about Manohar today.
“While the records of the BCCI show the reasons for amendments to be unrelated to personal interests of the applicant or that of the interest of India Cements Ltd, to say that amendment was to benefit the applicant would be an egregious lie”, said Srinivasan. “Only a strong person with an impeccable image can take BCCI out of this ongoing mess”, a top official said.
He said that those who approved the amendment at various stages included Thakur and the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in his capacity as president of the Gujarat Cricket Association at the time. From the position of king-maker, the serving ICC president now finds himself completely isolated.
Manohar has the backing of two powerful lobbies in Indian cricket.