Emboldened Srinivasan calls a meeting of his supporters in Chennai on February 7. The cricket board’s Working Committee too will meet in his hometown a day later.The embattled BCCI chief-in-exile N Srinivasan received a shot in the arm on Tuesday with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party assuring him of its support in the forthcoming board elections.He met Union Finance Minister and Delhi District Cricket Association chief Arun Jaitley at the latter’s residence on Tuesday morning and secured an assurance that all state cricket associations controlled by the BJP will vote for him.Apart from the nine state associations, the BJP also controls three Union government votes with the Indian Railways, the Services Control Board, and the Union Government Commission. With 16 votes required to win the election, the BJP’s support can tilt the balance decisively in Srinivasan’s favour.A recent Supreme Court judgment in the Indian Premier League spotfixing scam had put Srinivasan in a tight spot - asking him to either give up control of his IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) of quit BCCI. Srinivasan told Jaitley that he has already set in motion the process of selling off his stake in CSK. However, he was assured that in the event of him not being able to shake off CSK in time for the BCCI election, the BJPcontrolled state associations will vote for a candidate of his choice.The Srini-Jaitley meeting has taken the sting out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sharad Pawar’s pocket borough of Baramati later this month. There was speculation that Pawar, who heads the Mumbai Cricket Association, would use Modi’s visit to stake his claim to the BCCI chief’s post and seek the PM’s support for it.Armed with Jaitley’s assurance, Srinivasan has now called a meeting of his supporters in Chennai on February 7. A day later, the board’s Working Committee to will meet in Chennai to decide the venue and dates for the BCCI election.When Mumbai Mirror contacted Sanjay Patel, he refused to confirm or deny the Srinivasan-Jaitley meeting. But sources said the meeting lasted for nearly two hours and Srinivasan and Patel had to camp in New Delhi for 24 hours before they were granted an audience.That Jaitley granted Srinivasan time when the former is busy with the Delhi assembly polls is seen to be an indication of Srinivasan’s equation with him as well as the new government.The only assurance, sources said, Jaitley sought was that every step that Srinivasan takes should conform to the conditions set by the Supreme Court.