BCCI ponders presidential election changes

The BCCI has convened a series of high-level meetings on Saturday that could have long-term implications on the way it is run. The board members from the marketing committee, working committee and the IPL governing council will sit to discuss and finalise changes to the rules concerning the presidency, and the terms of office bearers.

The proposed change to the election process of the president was originally mooted by Shashank Manohar to the board members informally. But in the working committee meeting last month, current BCCI president N Srinivasan put it forward formally for discussion. According to the present rule, the person who is nominated for the president's post should have attended at least two AGMs as a representative from the same zone.

"That is being amended now to any person who is proposed and seconded by the zone without the nominee having attended the board's AGM from that zone," a working committee member told ESPNcricinfo. "That means if two representatives from the same zone propose and second the candidate from any other zone to be become the president that is acceptable.

"There are six members from the east zone, with one vote each. If any two of them propose a name from outside East zone he would eligible to become a president," the official said.

The board presidents have so far been picked on a rotational zonal basis. By that system, it would be the turn of East Zone to recommend a representative to replace Srinivasan, whose tenure comes to end in September 2014. Reportedly, the board was concerned about the capabilities of some of the names doing rounds in the East Zone for the top position. But according to the official, there was another strong reason for push to change the rule. "It is to accommodate Arun Jaitley [the current vice-president from North Zone]," the member said.

The second rule change in the constitution being mooted is to allow the office bearers to have an extra term. At the moment every office bearer, barring the five vice-presidents, sit in the office for a single term of three years; the vice-presidents have two terms of three years each. "The proposed change is for the office bearers have an extra term of three years," the official said. "The main reason is to have the best people work for the board."