Will the sun rise from east again for BCCI?

Sourav Ganguly’s elevation (this has to be ratified still but is a fait accompli) as president of the Cricket Association of Bengal has ramifications not just for his state, but also who the next head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India would be?

Jagmohan Dalmiya’s sudden death last week opened up two important positions simultaneously. He was president of the CAB as well the BCCI. The first void has been filled quickly, with Ganguly, who was joint secretary, getting an easy passage to the top, albeit with a benovolent push from Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerji.

Electing the BCCI chief, however, is developing into an edge-of-the-seat suspense thriller. There are apparently multiple candidates, essentially from two major factions, belonging to former presidents Sharad Pawar and N. Srinivasan respectively. But even here, there now suddenly appear to be wheels within wheels.

Pawar and Srinivasan, who have been sworn enemies since 2010 when the Indian Premier League faced its first major crisis over the sale of two new teams which led to the unceremonious ouster of IPL chairman Lalit Modi, appeared to patch up last week.

In a hastily arranged meeting in Nagpur the two adversaries are reported to have agreed to bury the hatchet, ostensibly to save Indian cricket from further uncertainty and ignominy, though their critics allege that there was nothing beyond self-interest stake.

Pawar, in the political boondocks after the 2015 general and Maharashtra elections, has been coveting the BCCI presidentship since. Srinivasan, who was sidelined from this post after the Justice Mudgal and Lodha committees came down heavily on him in the IPL 2013 corruption scam, has focused all his energies on retaining the ICC chairmanship which has been under duress from the present BCCI dispensation.

With neither having the numbers to claim the top spot either for themselves or their chosen ones (the senior names bandied around were Anurag Thakur, Shashank Manohar, Amitabh Choudhury, Rajiv Shukla, Anirudh Chaudhry) they are now seized of the possibility of allying together.

If their vote tot up to a two-thirds majority, it becomes a win-win situation for both: Pawar then can return as BCCI chief and Srinivasan’s tenure as ICC chairman, which has to be supported by the board, continues unfettered.

On the face of it, this might seem like a simple equation to crack. But there are complications. Not every supporter of Pawar or Srinivasan is in favour of a rapprochement. Manohar, for instance, has been categorical that he would not have any truck with the latter come what may.

Moreover, the recent turn of events may have stoked the ambitions of the likes of Thakur, Shukla, Anirudh and Amitabh. Migration from one faction to the other in such a volatile situation is not unknown in politics of any kind.

Above all, there is the dimension of national politics to consider. This is so deeply enmeshed in Indian cricket that there can be virtually no major decision without political parties — BJP and Congress essentially, but now even the TMC — being assuaged.

Critically, the East Zone has a lien on the BCCI presidentship till 2017. According to the laid-down BCCI procedure, in the event of a president passing away in office, the zone has the right to the office and the nomination need to be made by only one other association in the zone to be ratified.

But if this nominee faces a challenge from somebody in another zone who in turn is proposed from the East Zone, it will lead to an election showdown. On the face of it East Zone will strive hard to have somebody from their own zone elected, but apart from Ganguly, nobody else has the stature to get widespread support. The former India captain, is unlikely to throw his hat in the ring and face an election where he could possibly face defeat simply because he hasn’t been around long enough.

From all accounts, the ball is in the court of Arun Jaitley to see if the issue can be resolved without an election, else the different factions will have to start working overtime again as the 15-day deadline for the Special General Meeting to choose a president runs out.

But one thing is clear. Even if he can’t become king right away, with two votes at his disposal (including that of the National CC) Ganguly has the clout already to play kingmaker in this intriguing Game of Thrones.