The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya has been re-elected as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for the eighth consecutive time.
Dalmiya faced no opposition at the 84th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the CAB held at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday, paving the way for him to retain his position for an eighth term.
He has been in that position since 1993, but for a hiatus of 19 months in 2006.
Dalmiya was forced to leave his post that year by the BCCI – then headed by Sharad Pawar – for misappropriation of funds.
In 2007, the Calcutta High Court dropped all charges against the 75-year-old man. After the court announced the verdict, Dalmiya contested the presidential election of CAB and won. He has hardly faced any challenge since then.
Dalmiya was also re-elected as the BCCI president last year at the Board's AGM. Dalmiya's panel has one more year left in its three-year tenure. Sourav Ganguly, who is currently the joint secretary of CAB, has two years, as he took up the post last year.
Senior politician Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge United at the AGM, raised the point of CAB's deficit of Rs 3.70 crore in the last calendar year. But the issue was resolved in the meeting in less than an hour.
The members also discussed about how to cut down on non-cricketing expenses and avoid a deficit in the upcoming year.
"They have been very vocal and passionate about the cricketing affairs and we need people like them in the AGM," Sourav Ganguly told reporters on Tuesday.
CAB Panel:
President: Jagmohan Dalmiya; vice-presidents: Sankar Nath Bagchi, Samar Paul, Amiya Kumar Auddy and Sudip Biswas; joint secretaries: Subir Ganguly and Sourav Ganguly; treasurer: Biswarup Dey.
