Pawar or Mahendra?

Intense last-minute lobbying could well tilt the scales as Sharad Pawar, one of India's political heavyweights, takes on Ranbir Singh Mahendra, a veteran administrator who has the backing of Jagmohan Dalmiya, for the post of president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Both the Pawar and Mahendra camps have been engaged in frenetic activity ahead of the election on Wednesday.

With a last minute compromise unlikely, the election could also result in a new secretary, vice presidents - five in number - joint secretary and treasurer. More importantly, the selection committee, whose first task will be to pick a team to take on mighty Australia, is also likely to be reconstituted.

According to The Times of India, Dalmiya's opponents have blamed him for the telecast rights imbroglio which has now reached the Supreme Court, and Pawar goes into the election with the backing of powerful men like IS Bindra of the Punjab Cricket Association and Raj Singh Dungarpur, who is the moving force behind the Cricket Club of India.

With tradition dictating that it was the north zone's opportunity to propose a candidate for the post of president, the PCA led by Bindra nominated Pawar, even though Mahendra, the son of the former politician from Haryana, belongs to the same zone.

Pawar has been one of the great survivors in the topsy-turvy world of Indian politics, but he will need every ounce of nous at his disposal to outwit Dalmiya, who has been Indian cricket's uncrowned king for almost a decade.