Just when it looked like the contest for the post of two joint secretaries was heating up, the Dilip Vengsarkar panel on Tuesday sprang a surprise by not fielding anyone for the all-powerful position in the biennial Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) elections.
Vengsarkar’s panel members, former India stumper Chandrakant Pandit and veteran administrator Ravi Mandrekar, withdrew their nominations on Tuesday. This development makes it a three-way contest for the two coveted designations.
Pawar-Mahaddalkar group’s nominees Dr PV Shetty and Nitin Dalal have been pitted against the incumbent joint secretary Lalchand Rajput.
Pandit, whose term as the director of coaching of the MCA’s indoor academy, came to an end recently, will be contesting for the lower rank designation of managing committee. Mandrekar, a finance expert, will be vying for the honorary treasurer’s post against Ravi Sawant, head of Mahaddalkar group, and independent candidate Pravin Barve.
“Earlier, Pandit was supposed to contest for the secretary’s post however, we decided to withdraw because the going would have been tough. The managing committee’s post may guarantee us a berth but you cannot say the same about the secretary’s post,” said a member from Vengsarkar panel.
“However, a secretary’s job consumes much more time compared to managing committee. Pandit is a coach and likes to spend his time on the ground. As a managing committee member, he can spend enough time on the ground,” he added.
Meanwhile, Barve withdrew from the presidential race for the July 15th election to make it a straight contest between union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Dilip Vengsarkar for the top post. The fight for the two vice-presidents will see five contestants in Shripad Halbe, Ashish Shelar, Vijay Patil, Ratnakar Shetty and former Mumbai skipper Milind Rege.
In all 16 people withdrew from their respective posts on Tuesday’s final withdrawal date. Twenty-nine members will compete for the 11-member managing committee’s post.
