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BSE elections on April 1: Merchant, Rathi, Dina Mehta in race for top slot

Suspense and curiosity prevail among the brokers and market players at the Bombay Stock Exchange as they await the governing board meeting of April 1.

The BSE board will elect the new president as the term of the incumbent president J C Parekh ends tomorrow.

The elected directors of the BSE governing board will meet in Bombay on April 1 to decide the office-bearers including president, vice-president and treasurer for the year 1999-2000.

Elections for the four vacancies on the governing board were held on March 26 to facilitate the holding of election for the post of president.

There are three aspirants for the coveted post: Bhagirath Merchant, Anand Rathi and Dina Mehta.

Merchant was the president in 1993. Rathi had held senior positions in the Aditya Birla group and has a corporate finance background. Dina Mehta was the first woman member elected on the BSE governing board last year, and if she gets elected, it would be for the first time that a woman would lead the country's 124-year-old premier bourse.

The election of the president has acquired significance ever since the Securities and Exchange Board of India asked Parekh to step down, for his alleged role in share price manipulation in May and June 1998.

Meanwhile, in an interim order, the Bombay high court has allowed Parekh to continue in his post till 1700 hrs on March 31 and continue in the post of director till April 8. However, the court had prohibited him from attending meetings of the BSE governing board.

Parekh also informed the court that he will not offer his candidature for the post of BSE president during the current election.

Parekh had filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority in the finance ministry challenging the SEBI's order and his petition is scheduled to be heard on April 5.

Apart from Merchant, Motilal Oswal, Jayesh Sheth and Himanshu Kaji who were elected on the BSE governing board last week, the five other members on the board are J C Parekh, Dina Mehta, Anand Rathi, Ramesh Damani and Kirit Bhagwandas.

The BSE governing board has 19 directors -- nine elected directors, nine public nominees and an executive director.

All the nine elected directors are likely to select the new president from them through consensus.

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