CHENNAI: The elections of the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) took place on Friday in Hyderabad, with no surprises in results. As expected, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo will continue as president for a third and final term. MV Sriram will take over as the secretary-general, while Nababuddin Ahmed will act as the treasurer.
There were contests for all posts and the last few days saw high drama with Lt Gen Harpal Singh entering the fray for the post of president. Girish J Phadnis was the third candidate for the top post, but not many backed him to be elected. Rajalaxmi’s nephew Amarjyoti Singh Deo was also in the race to be the secretary-general.
In all, 53 votes were counted for the post of president with Rajlaxmi bagging 30. Harpal got 19 and Girish four. Of the 54 votes counted for secretary-general’s post, one was rejected. Sriram won by a huge margin of 34-19.
Sudhir Kumar Sharma, Rajpal Singh, Sreekumar Kururp and Salam Shyam Keshor Singh are the four vice-presidents. Krishna Kumar Singh and Rajiv Sharma will serve as joint-secretaries, while Suravi Mitra, Souvik Ghosh, national coach Ismail Baig, G Bhaskar and SB Manjunatha are the executive committee memebers.
The Telangana Rowing Association had raised a protest regarding the eligibility of Harpal, claiming that he is president of the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), which makes him ineligible to contest. However, election officials did not entertain the protest.
Both Rajlaxmi and Harpal had the backing of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). While one faction favoured Rajlaxmi, the other was for Harpal.
Interestingly, the Punjab Amateur Rowing Association had an internal dispute and were initially not allowed to take part in the voting process. But finally, they were allowed to vote.
RFI office-bearers: President: Rajlaxmi Singh Deo. Secretary-general: MV Sriram. Treasurer: Nababuddin Ahmed. Vice-presidents: Sudhir Kumar Sharma, Rajpal Singh, Sreekumar Kururp and Salam Shyam Keshor Singh. Joint-secretaries: Krishna Kumar Singh and Rajiv Sharma. Executive committee members: Suravi Mitra, Souvik Ghosh, Ismail Baig, G Bhaskar, SB Manjunatha.