Chandigarh Olympic Association’s affiliated units seek more time to furnish documents

Almost nine months after Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered fresh elections for the Chandigarh Olympic Association (COA), the affiliated units were asked to submit their respective documents within a 24-hour deadline.

Notably, after a controversial 2021 election, the COA witnessed many changes. Amid infighting among the units, the COA office-bearers also drifted towards different factions.

Sources privy to the latest developments said an administrator appointed by the Deputy Commissioner is most likely to hold fresh elections in the first week of November. The DC-appointed administrator had, in May, assigned two DANICS-cadre officials to oversee the process.

Khushpreet Kaur, one of the two DANICS officer tasked with preparing the electoral roll, on October 9 issued the notice to the various units — registered on the basis of the 2021 COA electoral roll — to submit their documents by October 10.

Following the notice, however, the units demanded more time to submit the required documents.

“This is not the way to decide the electoral roll. There are many units who have been barred, many groups have multiple factions, some office-bearers are facing various allegations. Even today, the units which are not listed in the notice came to submit their documents,” said one of the office bearers of a local unit.

Clarifying, Khushpreet said, “This was just to seek information. This is not the final electoral roll. A day’s time was enough to submit the documents, as we asked for nothing new but already the existing ones.”

When asked about the status of new units and the ones which were disaffiliated after 2021, the official added, “We are taking one thing at a time. We are yet to see about this.”

Meanwhile, as per another clauses, office-bearers can be a member of only one unit. However, the 34-unit list issued by the electoral registration officer featured names representing multiple units.

Also, many office bearers, addressed in the notice, are no longer holding their post.

Sources added that the HC has asked the DC to submit the status of the elections by October 16, the next date of hearing of the case.

For years, the COA has been a hub of politics. It was found that many bodies were registered on identical names. In May, as many as 24 members of the COA took legal recourse, following which the court of Justice Kuldeep Tiwari ordered fresh elections.