Playing fields of politicians: A peek inside the BCCI behemoth

By Niharika Raina

New Delhi, Sep 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was formed in December 1928 as a Society, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act of 1975. BCCI, as it is more popularly known, has got all the state cricket associations in India under it. The state associations, in turn, select their representatives who in turn elect the BCCI president, who is currently former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

The main decision-makers in the BCCI are its president, vice-presidents, honorary secretary, honorary treasurer and honorary joint secretary (Hemang Amin is currently serving as interim CEO). The Apex Council is the principal body of the BCCI which is tasked with governance while the general body is constituted of all the members of the BCCI.

As per the BCCI constitution, all powers of governance, management and decision-making "shall vest" in the general body. The general body shall also have the power "to collect funds and wherever necessary borrow, with or without security, for purposes of the BCCI and to raise loans with or without security and to purchase, redeem or pay off any such activity."

The general body also has the powers to: frame, alter, amend or add to Laws of Cricket in India wherever desirable or necessary, direct and control the governing council; lend oversight and assistance to organising IPL and ensure that interests of players as well as franchises are protected. It also has the right to review any decision of the Apex Council or the Governing Council.

Coming to the political affiliations of its decision-makers, Ganguly has no affiliation to any political parties, but he has met many different political people in the past as well as in recent times. In May this year, he had hosted Union Home Minister Amit Shah, father of current BCCI secretary Jay Shah, at his Kolkata residence.

On the very next day, he attended the inauguration of a hospital alongside a senior minister of the Trinamool Congress government in the state, led by Mamata Banerjee, on whom he heaped praises and Firhad Hakim, the mayor of Kolkata. When the Left government was in power in West Bengal, it was rumoured that Ganguly had some proximity with then-Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Vice-president Rajeev Shukla is also serving as the member of Rajya Sabha through the Congress party. Treasurer Arun Dhumal is the brother of Anurag Thakur, who is currently the Minister of Sports, Youth Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Central government. He was also the BCCI president in 2016 before being dismissed from the post by the Supreme Court in early 2017 due to the failure to implement reforms suggested by the Lodha panel.

Source: IANS