Maharashtra Cricket Association falls in line with Lodha panel reforms

Maharashtra Cricket Association has agreed to adopt the recommendations passed by the Justice RM Lodha panel. The MCA’s managing committee decided in Pune on December 2 that the reforms suggested by the Lodha committee for better cricket governance in India will be implemented in full.

On July 18, 2016, the Supreme Court had made it binding on the BCCI and its members to adopt the Lodha committee proposals. Aimed at bringing greater transparency in cricket management, the committee had suggested radical changes in voting patterns, tenure and eligibility of BCCI members.

Most BCCI units with voting rights had refused to fall in line with the one-state-one-vote and tenure proposals. States like Maharashtra and Gujarat, that had multiple voting members, remained defiant in adopting the proposals. This precipitated in several hearings at Supreme Court without any final outcome. The next hearing is in January 2018.

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The state of Maharashtra has three full members – Maharashtra Cricket Association, Vidarbha Cricket Association and Mumbai Cricket Association. Vidarbha were one of the first units to agree to the Lodha proposals. Maharashtra Cricket Association’s acceptance leaves Mumbai as the odd man out.

After being forced to step down, former Mumbai cricket boss Sharad Pawar had vehemently criticised the Lodha proposals. But if the Lodha reforms come into force, Mumbai will have to take turns with Vidarbha and Maharashtra in being a Full member with the right to vote.

The Committee of Administrators has already drafted a new constitution for the BCCI. Almost every recommendation made by the former Chief Justice of India has been incorporated.

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According to the new Memorandum of Association, “each state shall be represented by a state cricket association duly recognized by the BCCI and such associations shall be Full Members. No state shall have more than one Full member. In states with multiple existing members, the BCCI shall recognise one of them to represent a state, while the remaining shall remain Associate Members (without voting rights).”

There are 30 full members according to the new constitution, including Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

A well-placed BCCI source told Hindustan Times that Gujarat is a trouble spot considering Saurashtra, Gujarat Cricket Association (led by Amit Shah) and Baroda Cricket Association are yet to adopt the Lodha proposals.

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The adoption of Lodha reforms has effectively split the BCCI. There is complete disharmony and mistrust among the acting office-bearers of the Board. The acting secretary and president are at war over the implementation of Lodha proposals while the treasurer has been charged with threatening the BCCI’s CFO.