BCCI election for dummies

How long can Jagmohan Dalmiya stay at the helm?The BCCI constitution has a clause which says that there will be a zonal rotation for the pos...

How long can Jagmohan Dalmiya stay at the helm?
The constitution says that the term of a president is for three years. Though there is a provision of elections every year, the mutual understanding between factions ensures that the presidential polls are not held each time. In case the president loses confidence of the majority of office-bearers he is challenged at the AGM. Dalmiya orchestrated a coup against AC Muthiah in 2001 and has been holding on since then. Next year Dalmiya’s term gets over and in case he still has control over his stock, he will vacate the seat for someone from his camp. The early ’90s too had seen a similar smooth transition when Madhavrao Scindia transferred the reins to IS Bindra without any election.

Who are the voters?

The BCCI mandate consists of 27 state associations and three non-playing voters — National Cricket Club (Kolkata), Cricket Club of India (Mumbai) and Indian Universities. These are generally divided into factions. Though there are no clear party lines but depending upon the power equation the groups are formed. There is no actual campaigning but voters can be wooed by promises of selectorial posts or managerial assignments on tours abroad. The president usually appoints the other office bearers from his group. The terms of the office bearers are also fixed. Secretary, joint secretary, and treasurer have four year terms and the option of a year’s extension. But in case of a change at the top, the whole panel falls.

What is zonal rotation?

The BCCI constitution has a clause which says that there will be a zonal rotation for the post of president. So no matter which faction has the say, each zone is alternately represented for the post of president. But there have been instances of this clause being abused. In 1990-91 Madhavrao Scindia, the Madhya Pradesh president (Central Zone), got elected on North’s ticket and Punjab Cricket Association chief IS Bindra (North Zone) in 1993 got the top job on a West Zone ticket. As per this clause after Dalmiya, who represents East Zone, it is North’s turn to elect a representative for the top post and the District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Arun Jaitley is the front-runner.

Same names, different posts:

Dalmiya, Bajpai, Rungta … these names are part of the India cricket officialdom for years. End of tenures do not always mean end of service. All the office-bearers can find some way of continuing in their position of strength. President Dalmiya started off as a treasurer in 1985 before becoming the vice-president in the late ’80s. In 1990-01 he took over as secretary and in 2001 became the president. SK Nair started as a treasurer, slipped into the role of finance committee chairman and went on the become a secretary. Musical chairs seems to be BCCI’s second sport.