Pawar play: Has NCP chief asked PM to keep Srinivasan, his 'cronies' out of BCCI chief's post?

NCP chief and former BCCI boss Sharad Pawar has reportedly told the Prime Minister to make sure that neither N Srinivasan nor his loyalist Sanjay Patel are allowed to continue as president of the Board of Cricket Control in India, according to a report in Times of India .

The report adds quoted unnamed sources as saying that “Pawar made it clear to Modi that he was willing to support ‘any candidate apart from Srinivasan or his ‘proxies or ‘cronies.”

It said that Pawar was in favour of choosing someone who is not aligned with any political party and was “also willing to back any BJP candidate.”

The report also says that Pawar was unlikely to return as BCCI chief even though he was “‘deeply unhappy’ with the current circumstances. Earlier PTI had reported that Pawar will decide on 27 February whether he will contest and attend the BCCI AGM.

This year it’s the turn of East Zone affiliates of the BCCI to propose and second the name of the president. According to PTI, MCA sources said Pawar was confident of getting the requisite support from the East Zone as well as the rest of the Board if it comes to a contest with Srinivasan’s faction.

The NCP chief, who headed the Board from 2005-08, is considered as one of the potential candidates to take over at the BCCI.

As per a recent Supreme Court ruling over a petition citing his conflict of interest within the BCCI, Srinivasan cannot contest the election unless he completely dissociates from his Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings.

The apex court had said that the conflict of interest has arisen between what is Srinivasan’s duty as BCCI President and his interest as the father-in-law of Gurunath Meiyappan and the owner of Chennai Super Kings.

The BCCI elections take place on 2 March and it remains to be seen how the Pawar-Srinivasan camp rivalry will play out.

With PTI inputs