NEW DELHI: N Gopalaswami, the electoral officer (EO) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday barred five state associations and three government bodies from the upcoming board elections in Mumbai on October 23.
The final electoral roll has 30 associations. In the electoral roll, the EO has mentioned that the final list of representatives of the full members, who have been approved to participate in the upcoming elections, are those who have been determined to be compliant with the Supreme Court judgment dated August 9, 2018, read with the SC order dated September 20.
The affected state associations (Haryana Cricket Association, Maharashtra Cricket Association, Manipur Cricket Association, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) and government bodies (Armed Forces/Services, Indian Railways and Association of Indian Universities) have no other option but to approach the Supreme Court.
Over 100 objections were made against the nominees, with MPCA member Sanjeev Gupta alone filing complaints against the nomination of seven members, including Rajiv Shukla (UPCA), R Ramasammy (TNCA), Mrinal Ojha (HCA) and Riyaz Bagban (MCA).
While Shukla was deemed to have given an an adequate response, the likes of Rajat Sharma (Delhi and Districts Cricket Association), Brijesh Patel (Karnataka Cricket Association) and Raju Singh Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association) were cleared.
More than 25 objections were raised against the nomination of Rajat Sharma, DDCA president and promoter of the pro-government news channel India TV, over his appointment as the representative of the state unit without the approval of the general body and the violation of rule 6(5)(d), wherein Delhi MLA OPA Sharma is allowed to continue in his role as a secretary.
Brijesh Patel, the former president of Karnataka State Cricket Association, had a criminal case (Case No 31672 in Adugodi Police Station) pending against him. However, since he wasn’t charged of the offence, and retains his position as KSCA’s representative in the election.
The filing of nominations will begin on Friday and ends on Monday.
Telegraph India reports that elections are unlikely to take place for any of the five posts with Rajat Sharma and Brijesh Patel the front-runners for the president and secretary’s posts, respectively.
Meanwhile, CEO Rahul Johri will be BCCI’s representative at the International Cricket Council meeting in Dubai, which begins on Saturday.
