BCCI Prepares for IPL Governing Council Elections at AGM
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has moved into election mode, but without any of the usual intrigue. Electoral Officer AK Joti has formally notified elections for two posts on the IPL Governing Council (GC), to be conducted during the BCCI Annual General Meeting on September 18.
These are not marquee power struggles. They are, in all likelihood, confirmations.
Under Rule 28 of the BCCI Constitution, the IPL Governing Council must include four members drawn from the BCCI general body. Two of those are elected at the AGM every year. At present, those elected representatives are Himachal Pradesh’s Arun Singh Dhumal, who serves as chairman, and Mizoram’s Khairul Jamal Majumdar.
Both are expected to return unopposed.
Their term, as laid down in the constitution, runs only for a year, which forces an annual trip back to the ballot. That process has now been set in motion. Dhumal and Majumdar, along with any other potential contenders, must file their nominations on September 9 or 10. After scrutiny, the final list of candidates will be published on September 12.
So far, there is no sign of a contest. No rival camps. No surprise challengers.
The rest of the IPL Governing Council structure is already in place. The other two general body representatives currently on the GC are BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and treasurer Raghuram Bhat. Around them sits a seven-member unit: four from the general body, the BCCI CEO, one representative from the Indian Cricketers’ Association, and a nominee from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office.
The narrow scope of the election notification tells its own story. With the circular restricted specifically to the IPL GC posts, it effectively shuts the door on any sudden moves for other positions. No stealth contests. No last-minute reshuffles. All current office-bearers are expected to carry on.
For now, the real action lies in the electoral machinery behind the scenes.
The Electoral Officer has called on all Full Members of the BCCI to submit applications naming the individuals they want included in the Electoral Roll for these elections. Those representatives from the state associations, who will attend the AGM, will form the voting pool.
State units were informed to begin nominating their AGM representatives from August 25, with August 31 set as the deadline. That opened a brief but crucial window for internal politicking within state associations, as they decided who would carry their vote into the room on September 18.
Once the names are in, they do not go straight onto the roll. They face a round of scrutiny, with objections examined and decisions taken before the final list is locked. That final Electoral Roll is scheduled for release on September 8.
By then, the electorate will be fixed, the nominations nearly in, and the contours of the IPL Governing Council for the next year all but decided.
The ballot may prove a formality. The process, in BCCI’s world, rarely is.
