Election likely, East zone wants Amitabh Chaudhary as BCCI President

NEW DELHI: The sudden demise of veteran administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya has turned the BCCI into a divided house with the East Zone units deciding to prop up their own candidate, giving a new twist to the intense succession battle.

The East Zone units, in all likelihood, are going to field joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary of Jharkhand as their candidate for the post of BCCI president.

While Sharad Pawar and Rajeev Shukla's names are doing rounds but both the seasoned politicians might not find it easy to get a proposer and seconder from the Eastern zone where there are as many as six votes comprising of Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura and National Cricket Club (NCC).

There is every possibility at this point of time that if Shukla or Pawar throw their hat in the ring, there will be an election and not an unanimous selection.

As for Pawar, the former ICC and BCCI supremo is testing waters currently and would only offer his candidature if he is sure of atleast 16 votes for which he would need government support. In any case, a veteran of electoral politics, Pawar is known to take decisions after long and hard deliberation.

The East Zone officials had an informal discussion with each other in the last two days and they have come to a conclusion that till 2017, the president should be someone from their own zone.

"The East Zone states want that somebody from the zone becomes the president. At this point of time, Amitabh Chaudhary fits the bill perfectly," a top BCCI official from East Zone told PTI on condition of anonymity.

"He had been an IPS officer, has managed Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), has attended AGM and is an office-bearer. Atleast, four East Zone units will back Chaudhary's candidature. Our contention is till 2017, it should be someone from the East Zone. If not, then one can't rule out the possibility of an election. You can be rest assured if Pawar fights, CAB and NCC (kind of Dalmiya's family club) won't vote for him," the senior East Zone official said.