Power vacuum opens up leadership race

Over the past few months, Jagmohan Dalmiya's poor health had led to rumblings about whether he could continue as BCCI president for his third stint (including his interim period in 2013). As the 2015 BCCI elections drew close, there was talk among Dalmiya's opponents about trying to find a way to have him relinquish the position. However, the process to displace him was not as straightforward as they would have wished and so Dalmiya was neither formall y challenged nor forced to step down.

A senior Board member, speaking with the benefit of hindsight, now says it was "foolish" of the members to elect Dalmiya in March 2015 when they knew such a situation was likely to arise, due to his fading physical condition. Yet the reality was that there was no choice: Dalmiya emerged a consensus candidate because neither of the two rival groups in the BCCI - one headed by N Srinivasan and the other a broad group of his opponents - could force their man through.

That rough equivalence of power remains today and is expected to trigger another round of jockeying for the top job. The anti-Srinivasan group now finds its unofficial and undeclared head in Anurag Thakur, who as board secretary holds the second-most powerful post. He latterly served as de facto head of the BCCI due to Dalmiya's ailments but has been the subject of much grumbling in the board's offices for his allegedly autocratic ways and unchecked power. Thakur's critics believe that the situation could have negative consequences on the autonomy of the board in light of the Supreme Court instructions to the Lodha Panel to recommend changes about the BCCI's constitution and manner of functioning.

Replacing Dalmiya will not be easy for other reasons too. BCCI rules state that the six members of the East Zone will have the first say in picking the replacement considering it is their turn to elect the president till 2017. The pre-requisite for a presidential candidate is attendance of at least two AGMs and having been an office bearer (president, secretary, treasurer, joint secretary) or vice-president earlier.

One of the most obvious potential candidates is Sharad Pawar, the Mumbai Cricket Association president, who is believed to have told his inner circle about his desire to lead the BCCI once again. But Pawar has decided to play the waiting game, not showing his hand, this modus operandi being the backbone of his longstanding success as a politician for more than half a century.

There is also Rajiv Shukla, who has been trying hard to lobby support in the East. And then there's the spectre of the invisible hand ruling the BCCI, that of the federal government - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Members believe Thakur, who is a senior BJP MP, will not upset the party leadership, where it is believed that Srinivasan has the backing of a top BJP politician.