In order to select its new president post the sudden death of Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) has called its Special General Meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on Sunday.
Apprising media of the development, BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said the meeting will be held in Mumbai and scrutiny of the nominations will be done on October 3.
“Shashank Manohar is our consensus candidate,” Thakur told media, adding that if an election happens, “N Srinivasan can come and vote at the SGM”.
The Supreme Court hearing on Srinivasan’s eligibility on attending BCCI meeting is slated for October 5.
Thakur said Srinivasan cannot attend the meeting but he was not barred from casting his vote.
The 57-year-old former president emerged as the favourite for BCCI’s top post – for a second stint – after Thakur and some other top officials belonging to Sharad Pawar faction earlier had a meeting with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to find a consensus candidate for the President’s post following the death of Dalmiya.
Thakur, along with former BCCI president Manohar and former treasurer Ajay Shirke, met Jaitley at his residence on Thursday night and discussed the way forward to break the leadership stalemate.
With the news of a possible alliance between former BCCI presidents and known foes Sharad Pawar and N Srinivasan gaining momentum, the Thakur faction have also started back channel talks with key members of the Pawar faction.
In fact Manohar and Shirke, two of the most vocal members of the anti N Srinivasan faction, flew to Delhi on Thursday evening to not only meet Jaitley but also hold discussions with other key BCCI officials.
“Yes, there was a meeting that took place at Mr. Jaitley’s residence. Manohar and Shirke spoke at length about the current situation of BCCI with Mr Jaitley.Thakur was also present”, a top BCCI official said on condition of anonymity.
It is learnt that Manohar, the Vidarbha-based lawyer was offered the BCCI president’s post for his clean image and being a crusader of anti-corruption in the board but apparently he declined the offer.
