CHENNAI: Just as it seemed that things are settling down and a majority of the state units under BCCI are heading towards elections, a notice issued by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Monday has caused fresh confusion. It says that the tenure and cooling-off clause applies to apex-council members also, not just the office-bearers.
Up in arms against this, several state associations have decided to write to the CoA, saying this should not happen. They are claiming this is against the Supreme Court order on Lodha commission recommendations and this was not mentioned when they submitted revised constitutions. Many of them are preparing for elections in the knowledge that such restrictions apply only to office-bearers.
A tele-conference was held on Tuesday evening, where representatives of around 32 associations took part. Former BCCI president N Srinivasan, former secretary Niranjan Shah, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly were also present. It was decided that all these units will write to the administrators on Wednesday and ask them to change this.
“The CoA’s directive has complicated matters,” said the president of a state unit who took part in the tele-conference. “It means we all have to revise the constitution again. This is not possible at the eleventh hour (last date to complete elections is September 28). Some of the units have already held elections following the new constitution which was approved by CoA. They were conducted under an electoral officer following guidelines laid out by the CoA. Now, they have to undo everything. How is that possible?”
The clarification issued by CoA means that persons considered eligible to contest elections might find themselves ineligible. A state association that has already held elections has senior office-bearers who have completed over six years in the apex council. This association is in a fix because going by the notice issued, the office-bearers concerned have to step down.
“The rules are clear and it’s not possible for the CoA to monitor every act of every individual. It’s up to the association members to ensure that rules are followed. Anyone to have completed six years in the apex council has to take a cooling-off break. If an association has elected someone who is not eligible on this ground, that individual has to step down. We will take a call after speaking to the concerned electoral officer,” a CoA member said.
The states concerned insist this is not on. “Once the election process has been started following a set of instructions, changing rules in the middle of it all amounts to violation of court orders. We will bring this up and also approach the court because the CoA is contradicting its own orders,” said a state association head.