Chennai: N. Srinivasan may have come out smiling bravely from the BCCI AGM in the city on Monday, but the outcome of the elections to two key posts with the return of Dalmiya as president and the elevation as secretary of Anurag Thakur, who shifted allegiance to the Sharad Pawar camp recently, may have come as bitter pills to swallow for the TN strongman.

The closely-fought elections with the ruling group managing to win the joint secretary’s post only by a casting vote may have come as strong indicator of the shifting scenario in the power equations within BCCI, for long Srinivasan’s fiefdom.

Mr Pawar, who assembled the troops for a coup of sorts, said the results proved Mr Srinivasan did not rule the board anymore. “Somebody was claiming that the entire board was under his thumb. This result has shown that is not the situation. I am quite happy with the new set of board members,” Pawar said.

Dalmiya now has an important job at hand — to restore the faith of millions of fans. Dalmiya made it clear that his first priority is to repair the Board’s image. “This is a victory for cleansing of cricket, the game to which we are wedded,” he said.

The question is, will Dalmiya be able to act independently now? “Why not?” said Mr Thakur. “He has been elected unanimously. He has been in the board for more than 30 years and I don’t see any reason why he can’t act independently,” the newly-elected secretary said.

Mr Thakur said all the members of the board are keen to work together under Mr Dalmiya. “It was an important election which came at a crucial time when BCCI’s reputation is at stake. We have gone through a lot. The message is loud and clear as the reputation of the board is the most important thing for us now. All the members are keen on restoring the faith of the fans,” said Thakur, who was joint secretary when Srinivasan was at helm.

Mr Srinivasan’s greatest fear may have been a threat to the ratification of his chairmanship of the ICC, which he holds only at the pleasure of BCCI. Besides the victories in the elections, many of which did go his way even if so only narrowly, the administrator who is disbarred from standing for election in BCCI, has had his way.

Thakur said it was accepted unanimously to maintain continuity and hinted that things could be different at the next AGM due to be held in September. “Many members who are part of various sub committees said we have just a few more months to go before the next AGM. So all of us agreed on continuing with that process,” he said.