Mumbai: Sharad Pawar , the Union Agriculture Minister, was declared elected unopposed as new President of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), it was announced Thursday by the election officer here ahead of Friday's biennial polls.
According to MCA sources, "Mr Sharad Pawar has been declared elected unopposed as President of the Mumbai Cricket Association by election officer S M Gorwadkar as there is no other candidate to oppose him."
Pawar's rival Mr Gopinath Munde of BJP, who wanted to fight the election but his plea was rejected, has so far not approached the court against the decision."
Munde, whose application to contest the polls was rejected last Saturday by the election officer on the ground of his residential status, had appealed against the verdict but it too was rejected, paving the way for the NCP chief to get elected unopposed.
This is Pawar's second innings as President of MCA. The Maratha strongman had headed the association for a decade, from 2001-2011, before making way for then Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh, who passed away in August last year. He was succeeded by Ravi Savant.
Pawar, who has headed BCCI and also ICC in the past, is backed by all three groups contesting the biennial elections, which have seen intense lobbying for the other posts in the Managing Committee.
