BENGALURU: The elections for the managing committee of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has been postponed for the second time. Before this, the elections had been scheduled for September 30 and were postponed to November 30.
It is said that the elections were postponed after the matter reached the court over eligibility criteria of certain candidates.
Former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, who is in fray for president’s post backed by his Team Game Changers, expressed “shock”, saying cricket had once again fallen out of KSCA’s priorities. “The priority has to be cricket, and not politics. We are here for just one reason: to bring international cricket back to M Chinnaswamy Stadium, including the IPL. We hear that the Bengaluru franchise (in the IPL) might play outside of Bengaluru; why should that happen? If we want to bring those matches, we need to conduct the elections.”
Vinay Mruthyunjaya from Prasad’s team, who is running for secretary, alleged that the electoral officer had tried to communicate with the managing committee via letters on November 14 and 15, only to receive no response.
“We understand that upon receiving their response, the electoral officer said there was confusion amongst the members (and hence the postponement). We don’t understand what the confusion is. The committee is squarely responsible for the postponement of the elections,” he alleged. “We will sit with our lawyers tonight and discuss next steps,” he added.
One of Prasad’s key points throughout his campaign has been that cricket in all its forms has been neglected in the state by the KSCA for far too long.
Prasad also took exception to a non-cricketer from Brijesh Patel’s team contesting against him. “That legacy (of KSCA being led by a former cricketer) is at risk,” he said.