CAB ruling faction sweeps elections - Dinesh Vajpai loses 13-106

Calcutta: At the end of the day, the script was as familiar and predictable as a Bollywood pot-boiler. The ruling faction, led by Jagmohan Dalmiya, literally brushed aside the challenge thrown by former city police commissioner and state director general of police Dinesh Vajpai.

Dalmiya’s margin of victory must have left Vajpai wondering why he contested for the post of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president at all ? it was a staggering 106-13. Of the 121 affiliated units, one was absent while another vote was cancelled.

Amitava Banerjee and Saradindu Pal triumphed in the race to the joint secretary’s posts, beating opposition candidate Samar Paul. Banerjee and Pal polled 96 and 87 votes, respectively, while Paul got 35 votes. Two votes were cancelled while three units restrained from voting.

Just in case Vajpai and Paul were being backed by those in the BCCI opposed to Dalmiya, it was a huge setback for them.

Shiv Kumar Kalyani was re-elected CAB treasurer. M.K. Sen and Samir Sen retained their vice-presidents’ posts, while Asit Chatterjee and Subhas Basu were the new incumbents.

Vajpai said: “It was an ideological battle... maybe certain sections want things to continue in this manner. It’s difficult to dislodge people who have been in the chair for a long time.”

He said he had contested on certain issues. “Hopefully these matters will be analysed and talked about and a conclusion will be arrived at some stage? But this definitely is not the end. The battle is not over. I may not be here next time and someone else will take my place.”

Dalmiya was not very forthcoming. “It’s unfortunate that he (Vajpai) did not say anything on issues he had earlier talked about, at the AGM,” was all that the CAB president would offer.

The election to the post of president was conducted first. Though legal opinion favoured Dalmiya presiding over his own elections, he decided to vacate the chair. The senior-most and outgoing vice-president Barid Baran Sarkar then took charge.

Whatever the bottomline, there was a lot of drama surrounding CAB’s 74th annual general meeting. Long before the meeting got underway at 6 pm, hordes of policemen along with officers from the Special Branch took position around the B.C. Roy Club House.

Additional commissioner of police (1) Gautam Chakraborty paid a visit shortly after Vajpai made an entry at the battleground.