M A I N   N E W S

Punjab backs Pawar for BCCI President’s post
Abhijit Chatterjee
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 26
Now it is official. The Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, has managed to get a nomination from north zone for the forthcoming general body meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), to be conducted at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on September 29. It is during the general body meeting that elections of the BCCI are scheduled to be held.

Mr Pawar, who has already indicated that he is inclined to contest the post of President of the BCCI, was yet to find a nomination from north zone.

Since this is north zone’s turn to elect the new President of the BCCI with the current incumbent, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, having completed his tenure of three years, it was mandatory for the Union Minister to get a nomination from north zone before throwing his hat in the ring.

But now that he has succeeded to get a nomination from the Punjab Cricket Association, Mr Pawar will be in a position to contest the BCCI elections as a north zone nominee.

Mr Pawar in all likelihood will be pitted in a straight fight for the top BCCI post with Mr Ranbir Singh Mahendra, Secretary of the Haryana Cricket Association and currently Vice-President of the BCCI.

Mr Ranbir Singh, who has a very long association with the board having worked in various capacities in the past, has the support of the group headed by Mr Dalmiya.

This is not the first time that the top post of the board will be contested by an outsider from the zone.

In 1990, Mr Madhavrao Scindia, who generally represented central zone as president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, got a north zone nomination to become the President.

Then, in 1993, the President of the Punjab Cricket Association, Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, got a nomination from Baroda (west zone) to occupy the top post in the board.

Then again in 1996, Mr Raj Singh Dungarpur, who represents the Mumbai-based Cricket Club of India in west zone, got a nomination from Rajashtan (central zone) to capture the post of President of the board.

This afternoon the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) decided to nominate Mr Pawar to attend the Kolkata meeting on behalf of the PCA. While the PCA Secretary, Mr M.P. Pandove, has been generally attending all meeting of the BCCI and its various committees in the past, by nominating Mr Pawar to attend the Kolkata meeting the PCA has probably debarred its Secretary from attending the meeting since only one representative from each of the affiliated units can attend the annual general body meeting.

While there was no official word why the PCA opted to take such a step, it is a well known fact that there is no love lost between the PCA President, Mr Bindra, and Mr Dalmiya.

Also, from a departure from the past the Punjab Cricket Association did not discuss the issue with other units of the zone and took an unilateral decision to nominate Mr Pawar for the September 29 meeting. Generally, prior to any general body meeting all the units affiliated to the zone meet and decided on common candidates for various posts. The PCA has left it to Mr Pawar to get the support from other north zone units.

Congress for Pawar as BCCI chief?
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 26
The battle for the post of the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took an interesting political swing today with the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) deciding to nominate the National Congress Party (NCP) chief and Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, for the post.

The board elections are known to witness tough political battles as major political parties had been throwing their weight behind one candidate or the other.

With the Congress now supporting Mr Sharad Pawar, his nomination from North Zone may upset the applecart of Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya and his men, who had been reigning supreme in the board for more than a decade now.

The Congress, with an eye on elections in Maharashtra, cannot afford to go against Mr Sharad Pawar at this juncture.

Understandably the PCA will not openly admit that its decision to nominate Mr Sharad Pawar for the BCCI meeting has any political overtones. However, it is imperative that the Congress high command wants all its units with voting rights in the BCCI to support him.

Sources reveal that message has been passed on to the PCA on behalf of the Punjab Government also.

The PCA Secretary, Mr M.P. Pandov, who was nominated a member of the Punjab Public Service Commission last year, is known for his proximity to the Patiala royals. Though he had been attending all BCCI meetings, now Mr Pawar will replace him.

By nominating Mr Pawar, the PCA has nothing to lose. Rather, it is a God-sent opportunity for it to show door to Dalmiya men for they had been neglecting Punjab ever since Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya and Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra fell apart.

Though outgoing BCCI president, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, has completed his term and the board has chosen him as its patron-in-chief, the outcome of the September 29-30 meeting may not be to his liking.

Before the PCA took a decision and passed a resolution to nominate Mr Sharad Pawar, the BCCI mandarins were preparing to chose between senior BJP leader, Mr Arun Jaitley, and cricket administrator, Mr Ranbir Singh Mahendra, as Dalmiya’s replacement.

The ruling Dalmiya group had been hoping for the Congress support by projecting Mr Ranbir Singh, son of Mr Bansi Lal. But if one looks at the influence, Mr Sharad Pawar wields power in the present UPA government at the Centre, all Congress-run states are expected to support him.

The Pawar camp is hopeful to get support of 19 units against a minimum winning support of 16. They are putting their hopes on Orissa, Gujarat, Assam, Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir, besides the three government votes — services, Railways and universities — and almost the entire west.

Mr Arun Jaitley, who has been a BCCI office-bearer and has worked in tandem with Mr Dalmiya, was the favourite until Mr Pawar decided to join the fight.

Last week, Mr Kamal Morarka , one of the BCCI vice-presidents, indicated to jump into the fray in case Mr Pawar entered the contest.

He insisted that candidates should conform to the BCCI norms and only those hailing from North Zone should contest. And now when the PCA has made Mr Sharad Pawar its candidate from North Zone, how Mr Morarka would react remains to be seen?