Chandigarh Golf Association new executive all set to be elected unopposed

The Chandigarh Golf Association (CGA) will have a new 14-member executive committee for one year, starting from April 6. The executive will be announced as elected unanimously as initially 15 members had shown their interest, but after withdrawal of one candidate now only 14 were left for the same number of posts.

It was the for the first time that the Chandigarh Golf Range, which is managed by the CGA, members were invited to be the part of its committee through elections. Last year, the CGA management had decided to make amendments to the association’s constitution after many Chandigarh Golf Range members levelled allegations of the power being kept within a certain group. The Chandigarh Golf Range comes under its parent body, the CGA.

As per the new amendment, 25 Chandigarh Golf Range members were to be included in the CGA general body by way of nominations or if the number of interested candidates exceed, elections were scheduled to be held on the similar lines of the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC). The club has not witnessed elections since 1997 — the year of its inception.

The CGA increased its members of general body to 58 from last year’s 24 through nominations. Thereafter, around 1,200 Chandigarh Golf Range members were invited to be part of the CGA general body through a common circular. However, only 14 candidates showed their interest. The elections were scheduled to be held on April 6. However, after receiving the same number of applications, the 14 are now expected to be part of the new executive for one year.

The newly elected president, from among the life-time members, will allot office to the new executive after April 6. “The process has been completed in a very transparent manner, under the supervision of a returning officer, who will make the final announcement on April 6. We have made amendments last year, considering the interest of our members. We (CGA) are sports associations and follow Indian Golf Union (IGU) norms. The Chandigarh Golf Range members have been invited through a process to be part of the general body first, and thereafter fight the poll for the executive. Had the number went across 14 (excluding the president), we could have held the election,” said SK Sharma, president, CGA.

Meanwhile, sources claimed, the 14-member newly elected house will have Anurag Chopra, Daksh Prem Azad, Gaurav Sethi, Gupreet Singh, Gursimran Singh Sethi, Harinder Pal Singh, Harpuneet Singh Sandhu, Karan Mahajan, Puneet Sood, Sampat Singh Ahluwalia, Sandeep Sarul Sehgal, Sanjiv DP Azad, Siddhartha Kumar and Sorabh Tayal.

Last October, the association had decided to include 25 members of the Chandigarh Golf Range into its executive body, consequently paving way for election of office-bearers for the first time since its inception. The CGA management had decided to make amendments to the association’s constitution. As per the new amendment, a notification was issued to all permanent members and those willing to be part of the CGA that they will be allowed to enter the executive body.