Incumbent secretary Ajinkya Naik defeated vice-president Sanjay Naik by a huge margin of 107 votes to be elected as the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). At 37, Ajinkya thus became the youngest-ever MCA president.

Election officer JS Saharia announced that 335 votes were cast, Ajinkya got 221 votes while Sanjay, representing Ashish Shelar Group, had to settle for 114 votes. The election for the post of secretary, which fell vacant after Ajinkya assumed office, will now be held after 45 days.

“This is the victory of Maidan cricket. This is the victory of all Maidan club secretaries, school and college gym secretaries and former cricketers. I am only their representative,” Ajinkya said.

“I have been serving MCA in various capacities since 2015 and it is a pyramid-like journey thanks to the maidan clubs and their secretaries.”

Also read | English cricket open to IPL investment in Hundred

The fight between the Naiks has turned political with each passing week. While Ajinkya has continued with his square representative narrative and avoided seeking votes by referring to a political leader during the campaign, Sanjay has seen BJP heavyweight and BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar utilise his support to the fullest.

But Sharad Pawar’s formal stay away from the election meant he did not approve of Sanjay’s candidacy. It is also understood that other political leaders, including some of the state’s top BJP leaders, have thrown their weight behind Ajinkya, whose father-in-law is a member of the legislature.

“It was expected but I kept quiet until the result was made official. There were many unseen forces in cricket and the game supporting me. But definitely Sharad Pawar sir was our mentor. He was supporting me and we always sought his approval.”

The decision to hold elections was taken due to the demise of Amol Kale on June 10. Ajinkya stated that creating employment opportunities was at the top of his agenda.

“We launched the Knowledge Centre last month. Now my plan is to provide employment opportunities to young cricketers,” he said. “We will plan a career fair where we will invite all government organisations, companies and as the apex council of MCA, we will ask the HR departments to offer permanent jobs to our players. Most cricketers are employed on contract basis, so our priority is to secure their lives.”