Deshpande replaces Prof Shetty as MCA vice president

The panel accepted the oral resignation tendered by Shetty at the last meeting.

"Professor Shetty had said at the last meeting he was resigning and then walked away and his decision was accepted. Today we have chosen Vinod Deshpande in his place as Vice President," said Ravi Savant who was elected as interim president of MCA at the previous meeting in place of incumbent Vilasrao Deshmukh, who died in office.

Shetty, after being defeated 5-10 by Savant in the election for interim president, said that he had decided to quit and would send in his resignation letter as he had lost the confidence of the committee.

However, it is learnt that Shetty, the Chief Administrative Officer of the Cricket Board, did not send in a formal letter of resignation but Savant said the committee had at the previous meeting accepted his decision to quit.

The committee also filled up the two vacant places in the managing committee by choosing former Test paceman Karsan Ghavri and Rajan Phatarphekar, according to Savant.

"I have become the president and in my place Mayank Khandwala has come in as treasurer. Vinod Deshpande has become the new vice president in place of Prof Shetty. The two vacant committee members' posts have been filled up by Ghavri and Phatarphekar," he said.

As per MCA's rules and regulations, the losing candidate with the highest number of votes garnered at the last elections would fill up any vacancies caused in the committee barring those of office bearers.

Pradip Kasliwal had garnered the highest number of votes among the losing candidates for committee members but chose to stick to his appointment as a paid director of the MCA's indoor academy and gave up his right to be a committee member.

Ghavri thus qualified for the post as he had garnered the next highest number of votes among the losing candidates.