CHENNAI: AHEAD of the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) elections that will happen on December 6, the Telangana Rowing Association has raised protests regarding the nomination of Lt Gen Harpal Singh for the post of president. Harpal is the president of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB).
In a letter addressed to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and election officer K Ramu, TRA has claimed that Harpal’s nomination is contrary to the constitution of IOA which stipulates that office bearer of one NSF cannot seek election as an office-bearer of another NSF except IOA.
“It is submitted that SSCB is an organisation which is the apex body for preparing and sending entries to various sporting events for the three defence services — Army, Navy and Air force as well as domestic competitions in India. In view of the above, it is strongly objected that a president of SSCB, being an office-bearer of an NSF, cannot seek election to the RFI, which is a recognised NSF of the MYAS, IOA and the international federation,” the letter said.
However, an election official said that all federations get a few days for scrutinising or discussing the eligibility of any candidate after the nominations have been filed. With only three days left for the polls, it is not possible to disqualify the candidate. “They should have raised an objection when the nominations were taken for scrutiny. I do not have the powers to disqualify anybody now unless the IOA intervenes.”
Unlike other federations, no candidate has been elected unanimously for any post. Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, Harpal and Girish Phadnis are the three candidates nominated for the post of president. Amarjyoti Singh Deo and MV Sriram will be contesting for the post of secretary-general while Sandeep Gupta and Nababuddi Ahmed are the candidates nominated for the post of treasurer.
Six nominations have been filed for the post of four vice-presidents and four nominations have been filed for the post of two joint-secretaries. Seven nominations have been filed for the post of five executive committee members. Interestingly, one of them is national coach Ismail Baig.