CHENNAI: The All India Chess Federation’s (AICF) election episode is expected to reach the court again. A day after Madras High Court ruled that elections will be held in Chennai on February 10, AICF secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan said he will appeal against the order. His group had called elections in Ahmedabad on February 9. Elections in Chennai were called by the section of members under AICF president PR Venketrama Raja.
“My lawyers are working on it. I will challenge the order to hold elections in Chennai. The decision to have them in Ahmedabad was not mine, but taken by the general body of the federation,” said Chauhan on Wednesday. He is likely to file the appeal at the Madras High Court. On Tuesday, the court ruled that Justice (retd) FMI Kalifulla will be the returning officer for the elections in Chennai.
Chauhan’s group is in a fix because the last date to form the electoral college is over and they are not on the list released by Raja’s group. Chauhan’s group had made a list for elections on February 9, which is no longer relevant following the court order. If there is no provision to update the electoral college, polls will be held with representation from 19 of the 33 units, whose names feature in the electoral college formed by the Raja faction.
The Raja faction is in the process of finalising names for the 15 posts. The last date to file nominations is Thursday and they can be filed only by those whose names feature in the electoral list. An official from this group said there is no news of revising the electoral college. In this case, Chauhan or anybody else from his side can’t contest the elections. “I don’t want to comment on the electoral college because the matter is sub-judice,” said Chauhan.
Praggu joint second R Praggnanandhaa jumped to joint second on six points after his opponent and top-seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov withdrew from an eighth-round game due to illness in the Masters category of the 18th Gibraltar Chess Festival. B Adhiban, Karthikeyan Murali, D Gukesh, SL Narayanan and Aryan Chopra are the Indians in a pack of players on 5.5 points.