Sitting vice-president Sanjay Naik, secretary Ajinkya Naik and Bhushan Patil are in the race to become the next Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president. Former president Amol Kale’s untimely demise during the T20 World Cup has resulted in the election, which is slated to take place on July 23.
Naik, who served as the secretary before being elected as vice-president revealed that he has the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mumbai and that the BCCI (Board for Control of Cricket in India) treasurer Ashish Shelar called him to contest the election. Notably, Shelar has close ties with former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar and the group backed Naik to lead Mumbai cricket after Kale.
“Today I was asked to contest by our group leader Ashish Shelar, from the Ashish Shelar-Sharad Pawar group. We will take late president Amol Kale’s legacy forward and work in the interest of cricket in the city,” Naik was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“An election was needed as per the new constitution. According to the old constitution, the vice president used to be elevated if the top post fell vacant. We have got good feedback and the trust of our voters,” he added.
Also Read: MCA President Amol Kale’s mortal remains reaches his Mumbai residence
We wanted to carry forward pending work which our past president Amol Kale wanted to complete: Ajinkya
Interestingly, another candidate, current secretary Ajinkya also stated that he has the backing of Pawar. He talked about his long association with MCA and stated that he wants to carry forward Amol Kale’s legacy and build on that by finishing all the incomplete projects that were left behind by the former president.
Also Read: MCA President Amol Kale succumbs to cardiac arrest in New York after watching Indo-Pak encounter
“I spoke to Pawar Saheb and there are other senior members and voters who came and said that I should run for MCA president’s post. I have been part of MCA for quite a while now and we wanted to carry forward pending work which our past president Amol Kale wanted to complete,” Ajinkya said.
Lastly, Bhushan recently contested in the Lok Sabha Election but lost to Union Minister Piyush Goyal. He now wants to turn his attention to cricket for the development of the prestigious MCA.