Ajinkya Naik. (Source – Twitter/X)
Ajinkya Naik, the incumbent secretary got the better of vice-president Sanjay Naik by a comprehensive margin of 107 votes to be elected as the new Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) President on Tuesday, July 23. At 37 years of age, Ajinkya became the youngest MCA president.
According to Election Officer J.S. Saharia, 335 votes were cast. The margin of victory was 221-114 for Ajinkya, who was backed by veteran politician and the former president of the BCCI as well as the ICC, Sharad Pawar. Meanwhile, the incumbent vice-president, Sanjay, was backed by the Ashish Shelar group. BJP leader Shelar is also the treasurer of the BCCI. After Ajinkya was appointed president, the secretary’s post was left vacant. Another election will be held in 45 days to decide who will take charge as the new secretary.
“The victory is a testament to Amol Kale’s exemplary achievement. My efforts will be to replicate his commitment and dedication to improving the quality of Mumbai cricket and take his legacy forward,” Ajinkya said in a statement.
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India’s chairman of selectors and former national and Mumbai cricketer Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Sanjay Manjrekar, Balvinder Singh Sandhu and Paras Mhambrey were some of the most prominent personalities who came out to cast their respective votes. Maidan club members, gymkhana clubs and college representatives also came forward to vote.
“The votes were counted in 14 rounds. None of the candidates’ representatives objected to any ballot paper and all the votes were deemed valid. At the end of the counting, Sanjay Naik earned 114 votes while Ajinkya Naik got 221 valid votes. At the end of the conclusion of voting, none of the candidates sought recount, so the AGM has been reconvened and Ajinkya Naik is elected as the MCA president,” election officer JS Saharia said while announcing the result.
After his triumph, an elated Ajinkya went on to share the credit with Maidan club secretaries, school and college gymkhana secretaries and the erstwhile cricketers.
“This is the victory of Maidan cricket. It’s a triumph of all the Maidan club secretaries, schools and college gymkhana secretaries and the former cricketers. I am only their representative. I have been serving MCA since 2015 in various capacities and it is a pyramid-like journey, thanks to maidan clubs and their secretaries,” Ajinkya said.
Ajinkya said that he was confident about his win but preferred to stay tight-lipped until the results came out. He also named Pawar as his mentor.
“It was expected but I was keeping quiet till the result was official. It was cricket and a lot of unseen powers in the game that were backing me. But definitely our mentor has been Sharad Pawar sir. He has been backing me,” Ajinkya stated.
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Meanwhile, Shelar said that all parties will work in unison for the betterment of Mumbai cricket and assured that the new president will have his backing.
“This was a friendly contest in which Ajinkya Naik emerged victorious. From hereon we will all work towards the betterment of the association. He (Ajinkya) will have my backing. Our focus will be on developing Mumbai players and providing them with the best of facilities.
“Our candidate Sanjay Naik fought with the right sporting spirit. I will urge him to work with everyone for our family (the cricket community).”
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