NEW DELHI: NCP on Friday swiftly moved to douse speculation that party boss Sharad Pawar has thrown his lot with those working for the ouster of N Srinivasan as BCCI chief.

The party distanced itself from general secretary D P Tripathi’s statement demanding Srinivasan’s resignation in the light of allegation that the BCCI chief’s son-in-law and the principal of Chennai Super Kings was involved in betting.

“If Mr Srinivasan has any iota of morality and public accountability then he should immediately tender his resignation,” Tripathi said, instantly leading many in political circles to wonder if his boss Pawar had joined hands with anti-Srinivasan forces including former IPL boss Lalit Modi to retake the reins of the country’s most influential and resourceful sports body.

But even as speculation swirled about moves and counter-moves to take over the affairs of the controversy-scarred BCCI, Nawab Malik, a spokesperson of Maharashtra unit of the NCP, told agencies that Tripathi was speaking in his personal capacity. “The NCP wants the law to take its own course,” Malik said.

Tripathi had argued for Srinivasan’s resignation on the ground that the latter was under a “shadow of doubt”. He said, “Therefore, I think till the investigations are completed, Srinivasan should resign.”

His statement fed into the buzz in political circles about possible realignment of forces; particularly an alliance between Pawar and Lalit Modi in the wake of the fixing scam which has dented Srinivasan’s authority, rendering him vulnerable to an assault from his opponents. Modi, who launched IPL when Pawar headed BCCI, never reconciled to the loss of his creation. He has ceaselessly campaigned against Srinivasan.

Although Srinivasan had seemed unassailable, the fixing scam and the disclosure of his son-in-law’s alleged involvement in betting has boosted his opponents, particularly Modi who can realistically hope for a comeback if he succeeds in enlisting the support of the NCP boss.

