'I am no proxy' - Mahendra

Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the new BCCI president, emphatically denied being a proxy candidate for Jagmohan Dalmiya and claimed that the election had been conducted as per the rules and regulations of the board.

"This point has come up now and then," Mahendra said when asked about him being propped up by Dalmiya, "As soon as I take over as the president of the board, you will see how I work. My only endeavour would be to seek the co-operation of each and every one."

He said that his political affiliations - he is a member of the ruling Congress party and the son of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal--had no bearings on his role as a cricket administrator. "I have been associated with the board for 30 years, and have worked as joint secretary, secretary and then vice-president of the BCCI .I am connected with the parties but my political career hasn't been connected with this."

He claimed that the bitterness of this election would not spill over to the functioning of the board. "This type of groupism is always there in every election. So you can't say it is a division in the board. Everybody is working for the BCCI and the game of cricket."

He admitted, however, that the BCCI needed to be more professional. "The time has come for professionalism and the board members will be taking some steps towards that."

Sharad Pawar, the losing candidate, insinuated that the election process had been hijacked by Dalmiya. "He was both the bowler and the umpire. He decided the final result," Pawar said while ruling out the possibility that he would take the matter to court. "I will be the last person to go to court. We will fight this type of elements and we will see that the board runs democratically. I will give full co-operation to the next president to manage the board."

Pawar accused the Dalmiya camp of deliberately postponing the meeting to buy time. "It was the duty of the BCCI's outgoing president to complete this election procedure," Pawar said, "but the meeting was again and again adjourned and without any official communication to Justice Mohan. Knowing fully well that I have got a clear majority, deliberate disturbance was raised and the representative of Maharashtra, DC Agashe, who has been the member [of the Maharashtra Cricket Association] for 20 years, was sent [away] from the meeting place and not allowed to vote."