The early signs of who will replace Jagmohan Dalmiya as BCCI president point to someone from within the East Zone, which has first right to pick a candidate. Since it is the East Zone's turn to nominate the next president, as Dalmiya died while serving his term, a majority of its six members - comprising Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura and the Kolkata-based National Cricket Club - believes that a candidate of their own, rather than one from outside, should fill the vacancy.

Four of the six East Zone members ESPNcricinfo spoke with, however, asserted that it was too premature to sit together and decide on a candidate, and wanted the BCCI to first call the Special General Meeting to pick an interim president. The BCCI's Memorandum and Rules and Regulations stipulate that the notice to hold the SGM needs to be sent by October 5 with a 21-day notice.

As for who can stand for election, the rules say presidential candidates should have attended at least two AGMs and been an office bearer (president, secretary, treasurer, joint secretary) or vice-president. That makes Arindam Ganguly and Gautam Roy (Assam), Chitrak Mitra, Gautam Dasgupta, KP Kajaria (Bengal), and Amitabh Choudhary (Jharkhand) top of the long list of eligible candidates to replace Dalmiya.

Choudhary, currently the BCCI joint secretary, acknowledged his desire to stand for election, but also took care to say he was willing to support any other member from the East. "It is in keeping with the philosophy behind the provision in the [BCCI] constitution," Choudhary said.

A senior official at the Cricket Association of Bengal, where Dalmiya was the president, said it was too early to finalise a name. "But this is the East Zone's term so it will not be good if somebody [from outside the zone] is hijacking that. I would prefer a person from the East naturally, doesn't matter who." Asked if Choudhary could emerge as front runner, the CAB official said there were "question marks" about such a decision, but he would keep an open mind.

The CAB and the NCC (another club where Dalmiya was the president) are two important votes that could tilt the balance not just for an East Zone nominee, but even for an outsider wanting to throw his hat in the ring. The CAB official pointed out that according to the constitution an election for the president's post has to be convened within 60 days preceded by an SGM. The date for the SGM and road map for the election, he said, would be chalked out after the condolence meeting for Dalmiya, which is likely to take place next week.

The official said he would also consult Dalmiya's son Avishek about whether his father had suggested any names that were eligible to lead CAB and the NCC. According to the official, Dalmiya's word always meant the last word and that would not change even after his death and the reason Avishek was being kept in the loop was because he had been working closely with Dalmiya after he became the BCCI president in March 2015.