CHENNAI: Elections in sports federations have become a flavour of the season. Deadline to elect office-bearers in accordance with the National Sports Development Code is nearing. Federations are busy getting things in order, because failure may result in getting de-recognised.
Things in the All India Chess Federation (AICF) are perhaps a bit more special, considering that it is going to witness a contest after 15 years. Officials have been elected unanimously since 2005. But that unanimity is gone and the federation is split vertically, in a fight between factions led by president PR Venketrama Raja and secretary BS Chauhan.
Formation of electoral college is expected to become the next bone of contention, when court-appointed election officer J Kannan meets representatives of the state associations in a virtual meeting on January 1. Other than dates, venue, technicalities and deciding whether elections can be held online, debate on who are eligible to vote from five-six states is likely. In a house of 32 (Manipur not eligible at the moment), this is not a negligible number.
While the Raja group is confident of the support of 17-18 states from the electoral college formed in March (elections got deferred due to pandemic), Chauhan's loyalists are of the opinion they will also have around 18 on their side if the list is drawn afresh. Objections to the electoral college can be raised. The election officer's decision in this regard will be final. Once he approves the list, it cannot be changed.
As of now, it seems the Chauhan faction will object to the representatives from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Andhra, whose names feature in the electoral college. The Raja group says this will be an invalid claim. "There is no dispute over any association. But there is an attempt to mislead. If somebody raises an objection, it will be addressed by the election officer," said RM Dongre, likely candidate for secretary from the Raja camp.
The other faction insists there is room for argument. "The electoral college is not final and it can be modified. As things stand, there will be five-six associations with some issues. We want to make sure that everything happens in accordance with the Sports Code," said Chauhan, who is expected to be in the running for secretary.
While Raja will seek re-election as president, Gujarat Chess Association's Ajay Patel is expected to file nomination for the top post with the backing of the Chauhan group.