MCA’s newly elected president Ajinkya Naik with former India captain Diana Edulji. (Express photo by Devendra Pandey)
Ajinkya Naik, at 37, has become the youngest president of Mumbai Cricket Association after defeating Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar’s candidate Sanjay Naik by 107 votes in a one-sided election on Tuesday.
Ajinkya was serving as the secretary of the association under Amole Kale’s. The MCA had to call for an election for the president post after Kale’s demise last month.
“It’s a win for Mumbai maidaan and their club secretaries as I’m just one of them. I have been part of various committees for more than one decade. My journey has been one of a pyramid. The result came as per my expectations,” Ajinkya said after the win. Ajinkya secured 221 votes while Sanjay got 114 votes.
Ajinkya said one his priorities will be to approach the corporate houses to create more jobs for the cricketers. Citing the lack of job opportunities for players, Ajinkya said it is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Although Ajinkya fought for the post without any politician officially backing him, he admitted that behind the scenes, ‘unseen powers’ helped him in becoming the youngest president in MCA’s history.
“There were a lot of unseen powers, and slowly you will come to know who they were . Our mentor is Sharad Pawar sir. We have been following him for long now,” he added.
A former school and club cricketer, Ajinkya served as MCA Apex Council member in 2019 and later was elected as MCA’s secretary in 2022.
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