CHENNAI: With the formal withdrawal of former India cricketer Kalpana Venkatachar from the polls, former India and Karnataka pacer Venkatesh Prasad becomes the sole candidate for the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
After scrutiny of the candidates by KSCA electoral officer B Basavaraj in the presence of Justice Subhash B Adi, Prasad and Venkatachar's candidature were approved. With Venkatachar announcing her support to Prasad, she formally withdrew her nomination. Therefore, Prasad, on the day of polls, is poised to be elected as president. Both Venkatachar and Prasad are part of "Team Game Changers."
However, Vinay Mruthyunjaya who put in his nomination for the secretary's post, is not on the list of approved candidates. This could be a setback for the Team Game Changers. The outgoing managing committee was led by former Karnataka spinner Raghuram Bhat, who is now BCCI treasurer. Notably, ES Jairam, who resigned as KSCA treasurer after the stampede at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in June this year, is in the list of approved candidates for the post of secretary.
Previously, Prasad has served as vice president from 2010-2013, when former India spinner Anil Kumble was the KSCA President. Kumble, along with former pacer Javagal Srinath, have lended their support to Prasad.
Big setback for 'Team Brijesh'
K N Shanth Kumar, who is part of "Team Brijesh" backed by former India player and administrator Brijesh Patel, does not find his name on the list of approved candidates. Shanth is the director of The Printers, (Mysore) Pvt. Limited. Jairam and former KSCA secretary Santosh Menon are the two approved names contesting for the team.
List of candidates: List of valid nominated candidates (for post of): President: 1) Venkatesh Prasad BK, 2) Kalpana Venkatachar (withdrawn); Vice-president: 1) Vinod Sivappa, D 2) Santosh Menon, 3) Sujith Somasundar B, 4) Kalpana Venkatachar, 5) BN Madhukar; Secretary: 1) E S Jairam, 2) Sujith Somasundar, 3) Santosh Menon; Joint Secretary: 1) B K Ravi, 2) A V Shashidhara, 3) Avinash Vaidya; Treasurer: 1) BN Madhukar, 2) MS Vinay, 3) BN Subramanya, 4) AV Shashidhara, 5) Kalpana Venkatachar.
Life members (Managing Committee): 1) Kalpana Venkatachar 2) Sailesh Poll 3) V M Manjunath 4) Sanjai Ashok Anand Poll 5) Vagesh Prasad 6) K S Kedarnath 7) Avinash Vaidya
