Kolkata, July 8 - With less than a month left for elections to the cash-rich Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), hectic parleys have started with some of president Jagmohan Dalmiya's generals switching allegiance to the opposition which is looking for a big name to take on the seasoned cricket administrator.

From former Test captain and local hero Sourav Ganguly, whose family seems to have thrown its weight behind the dissenters, to ex Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and union minister of state for tourism Sultan Ahmed - a lot of names are being floated as Dalmiya's possible challenger, but the opposition has so far failed to get an affirmative response from any of them.

'I have no idea whether they (the opposition) will fight. But so far, nobody has gone public with any statement that he is contesting against me or any other office-bearer,' a seemingly confident Dalmiya, a former president of world governing body International Cricket Council (ICC), told IANS.

'Probably, they are yet to find somebody,' said the ex Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, who has held on to the CAB president's post since 1993 except for a 19-month break from end December 2006 to the middle of last year.

Dalmiya had stepped down from the CAB top post towards 2006 end after being slapped with a ban by the BCCI then controlled by Sharad Pawar, but returned to power in 2008 by defeating then president Prasun Mukherjee.

Sources close to Sourav Ganguly said he was not interested in the top post this year, as he had his Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments in 2010. 'He is not averse to coming to cricket administration later, and then the CAB president's post will be the stepping stone to a greater role in the BCCI,' said the source.

Ahmed said he had been approached by various people, but was 'reluctant' in view of his political and ministerial commitments.

'People have been asking me to contest. But I am reluctant. I have no time to devote to CAB after meeting my political and ministerial commitments,' Ahmed, also president of Mohammedan Sporting club, told IANS.

Ahmed said he would have liked the octogenarian Chatterjee to contest, 'But he is not willing as he is unwell'.

'Let's see what happens. Things are not well in the CAB. It does not have a good rapport with the board.