CHENNAI: IT looks like the long-standing feud between the factions of Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) will come to an end on Monday.
The last two GFI elections were not recognised by the sports ministry, and infighting between the two factions have impacted athletes and the growth of the sport in the country.
There seems to be a new development ahead of the much-awaited GFI elections that will happen in New Delhi on Tuesday.
It is learnt that the likes of Sanjay Shete and Makarand Joshi, who filed nominations for the president and joint-secretary posts, will be allowed to attend the elections and cast their vote.
A letter that included the final list of nominations — published by returning officer SK Mediratta last week — had said that Shete’s and Joshi’s counsel responded to the court order by stating that they would not take part in the elections.
The two had earlier told Mediratta that they would take part. Hence, the returning officer had asked them not to participate.
However, the Delhi High Court on Monday allowed the two to attend the elections and cast votes according to a top official. It is understood that an observer assigned by Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) — former secretary-general Andre Gueisbuhler — will also be present in Delhi.
The election will be held for the post of treasurer (one post, two nominations) and executive committee members (four posts, six nominations), while all other contestants will be elected unanimously.
As of now, there is no confirmation about a government observer attending the elections. Sudhir Mital and S Shantikumar Singh are the unanimous choices for president and secretary.