By Niharika Raina

New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS): With the decks cleared for president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah to hold on to their posts in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for another three years (till 2025) without having to serve a mandatory cooling-off period, it could also mean that the elections might be in the making in the country's cricket governing body.

The BCCI elections happen at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), where the president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer are elected by the representatives of the Full Members. As of now, the current BCCI office-bearers will complete their three-year term in September 2022 and after that, elections may come up.

The BCCI elections are majorly a formality, especially when the loyalties of voting members are known well in advance. On the account of a contest, the outcome is often all but decided in advance.

The BCCI president presides as chairperson at all meetings of the General Body and the Apex Council. He is one of the three persons who sign the audited annual accounts and other financial statements of the BCCI. Simply put, being the BCCI president makes you automatically the most powerful cricket official in the country, a post which is most sought-after in sporting bodies of India.

Four weeks prior to an AGM at which the election will be held, the Apex Council has to appoint an electoral officer who should be a former member of the Election Commission of India (ECI). He would oversee and supervise the entire election process, including all nominations and candidatures.

Talking about the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the BCCI Constitution says it should be held every year, not later than September 30 at a place and time fixed by the president. Elections and nominations to the Apex Council shall take place after every three years at the AGM.

Then there's the Special General Meeting (SGM), which is convened by the secretary on: the directive of president, resolution of Apex Council and requisition signed by not less than 10 full members specially stating the business to be transacted at such meeting. At the AGM/SGM, full members have a vote each while associate members have no vote.

The Apex Council comprises nine councillors, out of which five have to be elected office-bearers. For the rest four, one has to be elected by the full members from among their representatives. Two people will be nominated from the Players' Association, one male and the other female while the remaining member will be nominated from serving senior functionaries of the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India).

Apart from this, there's the Standing Committee as well, whose main job is to provide guidance and advice on behalf of the members to the CEO. First comes, the Senior Tournament Committee, of five persons appointed by the BCCI at the AGM representing each zone, advising on scheduling of the tournaments.

Second one is the Tours, Fixtures and Technical Committee, comprising five persons appointed by the BCCI at the AGM representing each zone. Three out of those five members should have played at least 25 first-class matches. The Committee's job is to advise the CEO on fixing and drawing of dates for all India matches at home and visiting abroad.