Lele, however, was ousted as secretary after Muthiah chose to cast his presidential vote in favour of Niranjan Shah after the pair were deadlocked on 15 votes each.

The Indian team is currently on tour in South Africa

For Dalmiya, his victory is a culmination of a long-held desire to front the richest sports body in India.

"I am relieved because the opposition used every means to ensure I lost," Dalmiya said.

Voting in the annual general body meeting began after five hours of wrangling over who could represent the faction-ridden state associations of Baroda, Goa and Bihar.

Dalmiya claims that Muthiah used his presidential directive to take sides with groups that favoured a status-quo.

"I was deprived of three votes," Dalmiya said. "It should have been 20-10 in my favour."

Dalmiya has been critical of the Board, blaming them for India's current slump on the field.

They are currently ranked only eighth among Test-playing nations, despite defeating Australia 2-1 on home soil earlier this year.

Electing Dalmiya could, however, prove to be a controversial move.

He was among several prominent Indian players and officials whose homes were raided by tax inspectors in July last year.

Dalmiya insisted he had done nothing wrong.

He has also been implicated in an inquiry by the Delhi-based Central Bureau of Investigation into alleged malpractice surrounding TV rights deals.

The CBI has begun legal action against officials of TV network Doordarshan for allegedly inflating fees for the 1997 Independence Cup tournament and 1998 ICC Knockout Cup.

Rights negotiations for the two events were carried out by Dalmiya and then ICC chief executive David Richards.

Prior to the vote Muthiah claimed to have the support of 18 of the 31 affiliate members of the Board.