Unable to muster the required support, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday appeared to be preparing the ground for withdrawing from the contest for the presidentship of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. He is expected to announce his decision at a press conference.

On Tuesday, Pawar had announced that he would not contest if he were not sure of getting elected. Should he withdraw, Ranbir Singh Mahendra would be the only contestant in the fray. The latter is the secretary general of the Haryana Cricket Association and enjoys the support of outgoing BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya.

A senior BCCI member told rediff.com that the numbers do not favour Pawar.

Former Union law and justice minister in the Vajpayee government, Arun Jaitley, has pointedly told Pawar that he cannot be made the BCCI president out of turn. Jaitley has extended support to Ranbir Singh.

"When Pawar realised this, he offered to withdraw from the contest provided a person of his choice is made the president. He suggested the names of Arun Jaitley, (Congress MP) Rajiv Shukla and (former J&K chief minister) Dr Farooq Abdullah.

"Apparently, all three turned down the opportunity on the ground that they have no time to lobby. Jaitley had, in fact, made up his mind not to contest," the BCCI official said.

The five zones (north, south, east, west, central) take turns to hold the post of the BCCI president.

This time, it is the turn of the North Zone. Pawar is a member of the West Zone but has been nominated for the post by the Punjab Cricket Association, headed by I S Bindra who is a friend-turned-rival of Dalmiya.

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