CHENNAI:Just a day after K Govindraj/RS Gill-led faction of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) conducted an Annual General Meeting (AGM)and election in Bengaluru on Friday, the another faction led by Poonam Mahajan and Roopam Sharma held the AGM in Pune on Saturday. The 34-year-old Mahajan, BJP national secretary and a parliamentarian, was unanimously elected to the post of president while Roopam, former CEO of BFI and secretary of Delhi Basketball Association, was elected the secretary general, thereby creating history as the first national sporting federation to have women representatives at the helm.
According to a BFI statement, more than 40 members representing 22 out of 32 units took part in the elections in Pune. IOA-appointed observer Virendra D Nanavati and Sports Ministry representative Virendra Bhandarkar were present during the meeting. The tug of war between the sides showed no stopping as a key member of the Mahajan faction, after the AGM, alleged that the AGM organised by Gill faction was a eyewash and alleged that a few of the representatives who took part in the election didn’t have voting rights.
“Of the 22 people who attended the elections in Bengaluru, four didn’t have voting rights. They also had barred 10 units from voting citing contravention of nomination proceedure,” alleged an official. However, Gill had clarified on Friday that no unit was disqualified. With both the sides refusing to back down from their position, it is reliably learnt that the issue may go the IOA. Senior IOA officials showed concern at the development and even said if the issue was not settled then the matter would end up in court.