Dalmiya confident ahead of Bengal elections

Elections to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) will be held on Tuesday evening, with Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC and BCCI president, emerging as a strong contender to unseat the incumbent Prasun Mukherjee. Dalmiya had won the election two years ago but resigned shortly after following charges of embezzlement of funds during the 1996 World Cup.

The day before the election, Dalmiya appeared confident. "History will repeat itself," he told the Telegraph. "I am quite confident of winning. I said it earlier also, and that's the reason I have filed the nomination."

Dalmiya's faction is looking to get the support of the majority of the 118 board members who will be casting their votes during the board's 77th Annual General Meeting in Kolkata. The voters' list was finalised on Monday, with two board members being disqualified and one member not attending due to other commitments.

Mukherjee, the former Kolkata police commissioner, is campaigning for the election of all the candidates that his group have put forward. "I have asked everybody to vote for the whole panel. If you are voting for the president, you should also vote for his team, otherwise it's of no use. How will I work?"

He also said that he had the support of the BCCI, while maintaining that independence of the election. "They are not involved directly... but of course the BCCI has been in touch," Mukherjee said. "Everyday they call and tell me that they want me to win."

The elections willl be overseen by a court appointed observer, Justice Santosh Kumar Phoujdar.