MUMBAI, Nov. 13 -- NCP (SP) chief and former International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Sharad Pawar and city BJP leader Ashish Shelar came together on Wednesday to retain their hold over the prestigious Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) with the help of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the high stakes election of its apex council. Pawar supported Ajinkya Naik, who was elected unopposed as president of the MCA, while a joint panel put together by Pawar and Shelar came out trumps, winning 12 of the total 16 posts, including the key posts of secretary, vice president and treasurer. As this was a pivotal election, Pawar, who is known to control the MCA, met Fadnavis on Monday to ensure Wednesday's smooth run. According to insiders, it was decided in the meeting to have Naik elected for a second term following which Fadnavis aide and BJP legislator Prasad Lad withdrew from the fray. Before the meeting, Pawar and Shelar decided not to field rival panels, even though they had announced separate panels earlier. This is Naik's second stint as MCA president. He had won the post in the by-election last July following the untimely death of then MCA president Amol Kale, a close Fadnavis aide. Kale had won the polls in 2022 backed by Pawar. While Naik was declared elected unopposed as president, Dr Unmesh Khanvilkar trounced Shahalam Shaikh 227-129 to be elected as MCA secretary. NCP (SP) MLA and a Pawar confidant Jitendra Awhad defeated Navin Shetty -- 201-155 -- to be elected as the vice president while Arman Mallick retained the treasurer's post with a 234-119 win over Surendra Shewale. In the contest for the joint secretary's post, Nilesh Bhosale won over the Pawar-Shelar group backed Gaurav Payyade, 228-128. Among the members of the council, Shiv Sena (UBT) secretary Milind Narvekar got re-elected. Of the 375 voters, 362 cast their votes at the Wankhede Stadium, including former India captains Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Diana Edulji. Sanjay Manjrekar, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Nilesh Kulkarni, Paras Mhambrey and Jatin Paranjape also cast their votes along with political heavyweights such as Aditya Thackeray, Pawar himself, Ramdas Athawale, Shelar and Nana Patole. "It's a victory for our maidan clubs, secretaries and every cricketer - men and women. This win belongs to the entire Mumbai Cricket family! With the powerful support of Hon'ble Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Ji and Sharad Pawar Ji, this success became possible. Heartfelt thanks to Ashish Ji Shelar for his continued guidance and encouragement," said Naik. Earlier, two separate lists were being circulated in the run-up to this year's election, under the names of AS Group (Ashish Shelar) and SP Group (Sharad Pawar) - evidenced by the banners displayed outside the Wankhede Stadium on the day of the election. However, on the eve of the elections an understanding was reached between the two groups. A new list under the Pawar-Shelar group was circulated which included five names from the AS Group -- Arman Mallick, Gaurav Payyade, Suraj Samat, Sandeep Vichare and Pramod Yadav. Four of the five Shelar candidates won. Gaurav Payyade was the only one who lost. Newly elected secretary Dr Khanvilkar, who returned to the office-bearers' fold after six years, said: "I thank all the voters for showing faith in me after a long hiatus. Along with mentors, leaders, office-bearers and maidan representatives I will do my best to keep Mumbai cricket a force to reckon with." In the elections for the Apex Council, Sandeep Vichare, Suraj Samat, Vignesh Kadam, Shiv Sena UBT secretary Milind Narvekar and Congress leader Bhushan Patil polled above 200 votes to win comfortably. Nadim Memon, Vikas Repale, Pramod Yadav and Neil Savant were other victorious candidates. A senior BJP leader said the party had decided "not to expend its energies on non-political election". "Though Prasad Lad, the party legislator filed his nomination for the post, it was without the approval from the party leadership. The party leadership had given a go ahead for keeping the club election non-political and allowed Pawar and Shelar to take a call. Pawar and Shelar have an understanding that goes beyond the party politics which has been beneficial to both of them," said the leader....