Dalmiya set to retain post, Shah may face contest

Cricket » January 1, 1970 » News » Full story

Thursday, January 1, 1970, 5:30 [IST]

Kolkata: Jagmohan Dalmiya appears all set to be re-elected president while a keen tussle is expected for the secretary's post in the two-day 73rd Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) beginning on Thursday.

Dalmiya, who became BCCI chief last year defeating then incumbent A C Muthiah in an acrimonious election at Chennai, seems unlikely to face a contest with the rival camp yet to name a challenger. But the possibility of an election for the post of the president was not ruled out completely as Muthiah and Raj Singh Dungarpur, known figures in the anti-Dalmiya camp, are already in town and engaged in close door meetings with aides to chalk out strategy. A source close to Dalmiya camp, however, expressed confidence that even if the rival group managed to put up a candidate at the last moment, the sitting president would sail through comfortably. But for the time being all interest is focussed on the imminent contest for the secretary's post with incumbent Niranjan Shah expected to face challenge from either the Board's finance committee chief S K Nair or joint secretary Jyoti Bajpai, both belonging to the Dalmiya camp. Shah, who was the only Muthiah camp candidate to win at Chennai AGM pipping then secretary J Y Lele by the narrowest of margins, has managed to establish a good working relation with Dalmiya during a year when the Board had to tackle two major controversies -- the Mike Dennes affair last November and the recent stand-off with players on the sponsorship issue. Both Dalmiya and Shah worked in tandem over the last one year despite the continued tension and war of attritions that the Board found itself in. But the fact remains that Shah belonged to the Muthiah camp and Dalmiya's supporters would like to install their own man in the key post. Though, apparently both Bajpai and Nair are keen to enter the fray, the scales appear tipped in favour of the latter as the likely candidate. The AGM is being held in the aftermath of the bitter contract row between the players and the Board, which, at one point of time, put a big question mark over India managing to field its top guns for the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. With allegations and counter-allegations flowing thick and fast about who signed the controversial document, which contained the Players' Terms, the Board meeting may turn stormy on the issue. The Board president's detractors are likely to try and pin down the ruling group on its alleged failure to act in time to prevent the situation from snowballing into a major crisis. Dalmiya himself gave an interesting twist when he accused the International Cricket Council (ICC), with whom he is having a bitter relationship since the Mike Dennes issue, of interfering in the internal matters of the BCCI. Dalmiya's strong reaction followed media reports quoting ICC President Malcolm Gray as saying that the controversial Players' Terms had been signed by the present Board chief and not by his predecessor Muthiah. Another issue, which is likely to figure prominently at the Board AGM is the logo controversy, which led to Sahara India Parivar's decision to pull out of its three- year multi-crore contract to sponsor the Indian team. The Sahara decision came after the ICC refused to accept its logo and its revised version arguing that it was in conflict with that used by Champions Trophy sponsors South African Airlines. Of the 15 items on the AGM agenda, item number six is the election of the bearers, including those of the treasurer and five vice-presidents, one from each zone, which are likely to be taken up on Thursday.