CHENNAI: The final electoral list ahead of the BCCI's annual general meeting slated for December 24 was out on Tuesday. There are no changes from the draft list released a few days earlier. As reported back then, several state associations stay out of the election process. Of the 37 units eligible to vote as per the BCCI constitution, 28 feature on the final list.
Punjab, Rajasthan, J&K, Odisha, Tripura and Meghalaya are the state associations missing. Three institutions with voting rights — Railways, Services, Association of Universities — have also been left out. Elections will be held for the post of vice-president, which is vacant since the resignation of Mahim Verma in February, and two seats in the IPL Governing Council.
Although electoral officer AK Joti, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, didn't cite any reason in the notice put up on the BCCI's website, it is believed that these units did not follow rules. For example, officials of Tripura, Odisha and Meghalaya told this newspaper that they sent the names of their representatives after the last date of December 11. The secretary of the Rajasthan association said this might be the case with them as well. Punjab and J&K spoke of a communication problem.
For Railways, Services and Association of Universities, nominating someone itself is a process. The BCCI constitution says that representatives of these three institutional bodies have to be elected by an association of former players within these bodies. They cannot be chosen by the Railways/Services sports control board of the Association of Indian Universities. It's not clear if these three have players' associations as specified in the constitution.
Those willing to contest have to file their candidature on December 16 and 17. After scrutiny, announcement of valid candidates and withdrawals, the final list of contesting candidates will be out on December 19. The AGM will take place in Ahmedabad. Those attending will arrive on December 22 and undergo RT-PCR tests a day later.