While the much-awaited annual general meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) went as expected, the election of young BJP MP Anurag Thakur as its secretary, by a margin of one vote, came as a surprise.

BJP insiders say party president Amit Shah had a big role to play in this.

Shah is also the chief of the Gujarat Cricket Association. On Monday, though he skipped the BCCI AGM in Chennai while being busy guiding the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir, he showed he can still call the shots in the cricketing governing body.

On a day, veteran cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya made a successful comeback as BCCI president after his camp swept the elections, Thakur edged out beleaguered former board president N Srinivasan's trusted aide Sanjay Patel for the secretary's post, which has a tenure of three years.

A source, who is a highly placed member of BJP and also involved in cricket administration, said that Thakur's win reflects Shah's long-term plan, which involves grooming the young MP for the role of board president.

He added that given the unfavourable atmosphere in BCCI, as a fallout of the IPL spot-fixing case, the BJP strongman is waiting for the air to clear.

"Shah doesn't want to get into the muddle of BCCI politics right now. So, he didn't interfere in the board president's elections on Monday and allowed (former board president) N Srinivasan to have his way. However, by pulling one back in the form of secretary's post, Shah has made it clear to Srinivasan that he cannot take them (read BJP) for granted.

"The result would have been different even for the post of BCCI president if Shah wanted," said the source.

Thakur's slender one-vote victory over Patel provided the only moment of triumph for the anti-Srinivasan camp, which was backed by former Union minister Sharad Pawar. The win also indicated cross- voting as the people who vote for the post of BCCI president also vote for the post of secretary.

BCCI sources said that two members did not vote. Besides, state associations, institutions such as Railways, Services and UGC have voting power.

"There is no doubt that this is a reward for Anurag, who has worked hard for the party and was once in contention for a ministerial berth in the Modi government," added the source from BJP.