The political scene in the poll-bound Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) hotted up on Wednesday, as Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar filed his nomination for the president’s post, in a development that would pit him against senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde in the October 18 biennial election.
A representative of Parsi Pioneer Cricket Club, Pawar filed his papers for the MCA presidential poll, a day after Munde filed his nomination for the same post. Pawar’s nomination was proposed and seconded by MCA’s outgoing joint secretary Dr PV Shetty and president Ravi Savant, respectively.
It was speculated earlier that Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who was nominated as its representative by the Mazgaon Cricket Club on September 16, might take on Pawar in the MCA presidential poll.
However, with Munde throwing his hat into the poll ring, it is now quite unlikely that Chavan — who had earlier dropped hints that he would not be averse to contesting against Pawar in the MCA presidential election — would enter the fray. In effect, it will in all likelihood be a straight fight between Pawar and Munde.
Not many are surprised about the re-entry of Pawar – who had been the MCA president for 10-long years from 2001 to 2011 and was also the president of the BCCI and ICC — into cricket politics.
Sources close to him said that Pawar’s decision to re-contest the MCA presidential poll stemmed him his desire to recapture the top slot in the BCCI, of which he was the president between 2005-06 and 2007-08.
Pawar enjoys the support of the groups headed by outgoing MCA chief Savant and Vijay Patil, incumbent vice-president of the MCA and son of Bihar Governor DY Patil.
While the group headed by Savant has thrown its full weight behind Pawar, the group headed by Vijay Patil, met the NCP strongman on Wednesday and formally pledged its support to the latter in the MCA presidential poll, while Munde is a representative of Stylo Cricket Club, a club from Mazgaon. He is being supported by Mumbai BJP president and party MlC Ashish Shelar of Rakasthan Sports Club and Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai of Prabhodan Krida Bhawan. Munde enjoys the support of 90-odd cricket clubs owing affiliation to the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.
The MCA’s electoral college comprises representatives from 330 cricket clubs in the city.
Vijay Patil, who heads the panel named “Cricket First”, filed his nomination for the vice president’s post. His panel includes: former Test cricketers lalchand Rajput and Abey Kuruvilla, former Mumbai medium pacer Atul Ranade, Dr Unmesh Khanvilkar and Advocate Shekhar Shetty.
“All our panel members, excepting lalchand Rajput, filed their nominations today. Rajput will file his nomination tomorrow,” spokesperson of the Vijay Patil group Unmesh Khanvilkar said.
The last date for filing of nominations is October 11, while the scrutiny of papers would take place on October 12. The last date of withdrawal of papers is October 13.