Ajinkya Naik Re-elected as Mumbai Cricket Association Chief

Mumbai, Nov 10 (PTI) Ajinkya Naik secured his position for another term as President of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) after seven competing candidates withdrew from the race on Monday. The MCA elections for various Apex Council positions and other office bearers are scheduled for Wednesday.

The deadline for withdrawing nominations was today. Naik's re-election came despite the fact he was meant to observe a mandatory three-year cooling-off period, having served six consecutive years on the MCA Apex Council. This requirement was part of the reforms introduced by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee for the BCCI and its member associations.

Among those who withdrew were BJP MLC Prasad Lad, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar, and Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad. Both Awhad and Narvekar, former members of the outgoing MCA apex council, have filed nominations for other available posts.

The other candidates who stepped back included former India women's captain Diana Edulji, outgoing president of the T20 Mumbai League Vihang Sarnaik, Suraj Samat, and former joint secretary Shahalam Shaikh. Last year, Naik became the youngest-ever MCA president at the age of 37, securing victory over Sanjay Naik by 107 votes.

According to the list released by the electoral officer on Monday, Awhad will contest against Navin Shetty for the vice-presidency, while Unmesh Khanvilkar will face Shahalam Shaikh for the MCA secretary position. Nilesh Bhosale and Gaurav Payyade are contenders for the joint secretary role, while former treasurer Arman Mallick will compete against Surendra Shewale for the treasurer position.

Rajdip Gupta has been appointed as the governing council chairman of the T20 Mumbai League, where he is also the owner of the North Mumbai Panthers team.

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