Lalit Modi elected President, BCCI suspends RCA

Controversial former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, who has been living in exile after being slapped with a life ban, was today elected President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, prompting a livid BCCI to indefinitely suspend the RCA.
Modi predictably swept the polls, winning by an emphatic 24-5 margin after the Supreme Court cleared the decks for the announcement of the election results, more than four months after the acrimonious polls.
The result was announced by court-appointed observer Justice (retd N M Kasliwal here today. The announcement of results is expected to trigger another round of legal tussle between Modi and the BCCI, which has made it clear that it would not accept the verdict.

Out of a total 33 votes, Modi's opponent Rampal Sharma earned just five.
Within a couple of hours of the declaration of RCA poll results, the BCCI indefinitely suspended the RCA and decided to form an ad-hoc committee to run the affairs of the affiliated unit.
"The BCCI President has indefinitely suspended RCA from participating in any BCCI activity. The decision has been taken as per the constitution clause No. 32, sub-clause 7, where the president has the right to suspend an association, which doesn't conform with the rules and regulations of the BCCI. The decision was taken by Interim President Shivlal Yadav," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told PTI.

Asked if the chances of Rajasthan players being selected in various national teams will be affected because of this development, Patel said: "BCCI is pro-player. Our endeavour will be to look after the cricketers from Rajasthan. We will be forming an Ad-hoc body which will run cricket in Rajasthan, taking care of the interest of the players."
The 50-year-old Modi, who has been living in London for the past four years, was allowed to contest the RCA elections held on December 19 last year under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed observer.
Among other office-bearers, Somendra Tiwari was elected as the new secretary, while Pawan Goyal won the treasurer's post. Mehmood M Abdi, a close confidante and legal counsel of Modi, has been elected as the deputy president of the RCA.