Pawar is set but his team isn't

Sharad Pawar has emerged as a strong contender for the BCCI president's election, necessitated by Jagmohan Dalmiya's death on September 20. Not only has Pawar received formal backing from N Srinivasan, the ICC chairman, but it is also understood that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which runs the federal government in India and controls a sizeable number of BCCI votes, could be open to aligning with Pawar for larger political motives.

However Pawar's biggest hurdle could be his own supporters, a number of whom who are against any alliance with Srinivasan given their recent mutual hostility. Pawar - currently president of the Mumbai Cricket Association - has rarely faced open opposition in his long political and administrative career, preferring to negotiate and broker deals away from the spotlight, but the adamance of his supporters will test his skills.

Pawar, who met Srinivasan on Wednesday night in Nagpur, is understood to have briefed his key supporters (Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Mumbai) about Srinivasan's offer of support. However, a senior member of Pawar's camp told ESPNcricinfo that some of the West Zone members made it clear that it was not a wise move.

"Srinivasan promised him support and said they should have an election, but some of us are not in agreement to this and we told Pawar our support wouldn't be unanimous," the camp insider said. "Key members of Pawar group had resigned because of the allegations against Srinivasan."

Significantly, one of his key supporters and longtime associates, Shashank Manohar, was not present during the Srinivasan meeting though he was in the nearby hill station of Mahabaleshwar. Once allies, Manohar - who was BCCI president in the term between Pawar and Srinivasan - has turned into a vocal critic of Srinivasan in the last two years. Pawar would need all his powers of persuasion to get Manohar on his side in this matter.

On Friday, Maharashtra Cricket Association president Ajay Shirke met Pawar at the Yeshwant Rao Chavan centre in Mumbai, but he said it was not to discuss the BCCI at all. "There is a book being published to mark Pawar's 75th birthday celebrations and I am contributing a chapter there. We were there to discuss the book," Shirke said. "He did not tell us about any deal," he added.

Shirke and Sanjay Jagdale had quit as BCCI treasurer and secretary, respectively, in 2013, after the IPL corruption scandal broke. They were protesting against Srinivasan's refusal to take moral responsibility and step down as the BCCI president.

According to the insider, if Pawar did stand for the elections with Srinivasan's backing, he would only be guaranteed about 12 votes, which would not be enough to garner a majority number in the 30-member BCCI. From the West Zone vote bank, Pawar has assured support from Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Baroda and Mumbai, and from Central Zone he has the backing of Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh.

One BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo he wondered why Pawar would be interested in aligning with Srinivasan considering the Tamil Nadu heavyweight just had a handful of confirmed votes on his side. "Why does he need to make a deal with Srinivasan? He [Srinivasan] is doing all this to stay in the news. Even on the eve the last AGM in Chennai he told his supporters he had the majority of the votes and in the end how much did he get - just 13 and lost the critical vote of the secretary. Between then and now his stock has improved? It is an effort to remain in fray and not get marginalised. And Pawar is too seasoned a politician to not understand this."

Such talk does not, however, dissuade the Srinivasan camp, which is confident that Pawar will get nominated for the elections, a date for which will need to be announced at the BCCI's special general body meeting, scheduled soon. "At this time, BCCI needs an experienced person like Sharad Pawar to handle various difficult situations," a Srinivasan camp official said.

The X factor in this is IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, who is an MP from the opposition Congress party but has always maintained cordial relations with the rivals - both in the political sphere and within the BCCI. He also has a good rapport with current BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, who is head of the BJP youth wing. It is evidently clear that the BJP will play an integral part in who becomes the next BCCI president and it will most likely take that decision based on larger political factors.