The hegemony of Cuttack over the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) has come to an end after 58 years with change in its by-law for election of office-bearers.

Cuttack has been edged out of its dominant position as the electoral matrix has changed with the preparation of the new by-law adopting the BCCI constitution endorsed by the Supreme Court.

Cuttack had enjoyed supremacy because of its overwhelming share in the voting rights during election of office-bearers since the inception of the OCA in 1959.

Before the preparation of the new by-law, the OCA had 74 full members with voting rights while Cuttack had a lion’s share of 36 members.

“But in the changed scenario, the number of full members has gone down to 36 constituting of 30 district units and Bhubaneswar along with Ravenshaw University, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Paradip Port Trust, Rourkela Steel Plant and East Coast Railway as the five other members,” OCA’s legal adviser Dayananda Mohapatra said.

Mohapatra said previously 20 clubs, 10 schools and five colleges of Cuttack town enjoyed voting rights as full members of the OCA. But now they had become ineligible for enjoying full membership and voting rights. All office-bearers of the OCA had quit their posts following the Supreme Court’s order to implement the Lodha Committee reforms.

After that, the OCA as an interim measure had formed a five-member ad-hoc working committee on February 5 last year to oversee the running of the association until fresh elections.

The ad-hoc working committee with Dhiren Pallai as chairman prepared the new by-law which has triggered resentment among the local clubs as loss of voting rights also deprived their representatives from contesting election.

OCA’s former secretary Asirbad Behera, 75, said: “There is very little that can be done about the by-law as it has been prepared following the direction of the Supreme Court to mirror the new BCCI constitution.”

“If the clubs of Cuttack feel aggrieved, they can take their grievance to the Supreme Court,” said Behera, who was at the helm of the OCA for 16 years – fourth consecutive term after getting elected as secretary in August 2012. Behera had represented the Cuttack district association in the OCA.

Ranjib Biswal, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member, was first elected as the president of the OCA in 2004

and had held the post for three consecutive terms by representing a local club in the association.