Elections were held for 21 executive committee posts and following the developments of the past few weeks, it is likely to be a cakewalk for the Modi group.
The results will be delivered in a sealed envelope to the Supreme Court, as per the apex court's wish. "We have done our job," Supreme Court-appointed principal observer NM Kasliwal said. "Now, the court will decide when to declare the results." That won't be before January 6, when a Special Leave Petition (SLP) regarding the RCA is scheduled to be heard.
Kasliwal, along with his team, completed the counting process before sealing the results. As per indications, Modi has received 28 or more votes in the maximum of 33. Some voters were openly showing their ballot papers, with Modi and his panel prominently displayed.
The ball is now in the BCCI's court. It will have to act to save face, but then the fact that Supreme Court was directly involved in these elections does give a twist to the saga. The BCCI must be careful not to step on SC's toes.
IAS officer Sanjay Dixit feels it won't be easy for the BCCI to suspend RCA in a hurry, as they themselves are a party to the SLP, based on which the SC appointed Kasliwal as the observer. "The BCCI has known all along what is going on in the RCA. Why didn't it act before?" Dixit asked.
Modi group's spokesperson Mehmood Abdi iterated that emails from BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel to the RCA, warning it of suspension, were "procured and with the only intention of spreading fear in the RCA ranks".
He said that the fight wasn't between the RCA and BCCI. "Rather, it is between N Srinivasan and Lalit Modi. Patel has been writing all these mails at the behest of Srinivasan," he said, adding that quite a few members within the BCCI have been backing Modi.
When reminded that the decision to expel Modi was unanimous, Abdi said that a lot has happened since then. Another official close to Modi said that getting the required two-thirds majority at a BCCI SGM in order to suspend RCA would be quite tough. "This is going to be a new beginning," he said.
Abdi, president of Sriganganagar District Cricket Association, is a candidate for the deputy president's post, a very powerful position in the RCA executive committee. Like Modi, he too, in likelihood, has won by a landslide margin.
Abdi once again alleged that outgoing president CP Joshi was trying to disrupt the election process, just to get his way. Incidentally, Joshi was once missing from the action. He did not even chair the Annual General Meeting, which was held before the elections.
Modi's rival for the president's post, Ram Pal Sharma, refused to read the writing on the wall. "I am going to win, just wait and see," he said.
Unprecedented police bandobast marked the elections, which were otherwise peaceful. With Joshi backing out, there was no one really to spark the fire.
Politics of sport do make strange bedfellows, as was evident at the RCA Academy where the elections were held. Outgoing treasurer Mahendra Sharma greeting Sanjay Dixit and outgoing secretary KK Sharma sharing a laugh and shaking hands with Abdi meant that in this game of one-upmanship, foes turn friends in the blink of an eye.
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